


Bùkěsīyì

by Infinitree



Category: Kung Fu Panda - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, generationswap au, tags will be added as its deemed fit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 02:30:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6176701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infinitree/pseuds/Infinitree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s the dawn of another day, and everyone is getting ready for the Dragon Boat Festival. However, things take an unexpected turn during the height of celebration as the Valley Soothsayer foretells an impending prophecy and a tortoise ends up in the middle of it all as he's chosen as the next Dragon Warrior.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (See, I told you I'd set up the mirror sooner than later!)
> 
> This fanfic is based on elizabeatrice's original premise, which can be found [here](%E2%80%9D).
> 
> Save for a few minor differences in the form of Oogway’s relationship with Mei Yee/Soothsayer and Shen (housemates as opposed to siblings), his occupation (farmer as opposed to fisherman), and the lack of a hyphen in Mei Yee's name, it still follows the original concept.

_Once, there was a traveler who had wandered and walked every inch of the island he had called home. He traversed through the water, and sand, and trees, only to come back to his little village a few days later._

_He was looking for something. Not for food, or treasure, or riches. What he was trying to find was a bit more abstract than that._

_There was no proper way to describe what he was looking for, but after all that traveling he knew that he couldn’t find it in his home._

_The village and the island felt too small for him now, their way of living too lax and repetitive for his taste. His little village had survived for countless generations living off the land– but that was just that._ Survival _._

_Perhaps his kind could accept that kind of living, but he could never accept such a thing blindly._

_So he devised a plan._

_Fueled by the desire to see the world beyond the island– and perhaps experience it for himself– he worked tirelessly on a raft far from prying eyes and those who would consider him delusional._

_Once he was ready, he had set sail into the sea at night with nothing more than some food and a map to be filled out later. He never bothered with goodbyes._

_However, in retrospect he should have thought up of a better plan than simply leaving. On the third week, a great storm cut his voyage short and he descended into the depths…_

* * *

Oogway woke up in a panic, instinctively putting out his arms and legs out of his shell. After a moment of realizing that he wasn’t going to die anytime soon, he poked his head out and heaved a sigh.

_This again_ , he thought with a frown. Perhaps tilling the fields would take his mind off this. Groggily, he picked himself off of the mat where he slept and walked off into the main room of the house.

The tortoise gazed out the window and winced at the sunlight, bumping the table. He had almost knocked down a lone candle burning on it.

_Wait_. Burning candles usually meant one of two things– someone left it burning overnight… which was unlikely as the wax has barely melted (and the potential fire could kill all of them), or that someone was already up.

“You’re up early.”

He flinched at the voice, turning around to face its owner with a thin smile. “I should say the same to you, Mei.”

“At least I have a reason,” the named goat replied, vaguely gesturing to the robes she was wearing. Between all of them, it was probably the most expensive thing they owned, crafted from a blend of green silk and cotton and hand stitched dragon scales on the hem.

Thank goodness it was a _gift_.

“Right, the Dragon Boat Festival,” he managed to yawn out, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Mei Yee nodded, but her gaze was still sharp and pointed at him in the most uncomfortable of ways despite the bags under her eyes. However he refused to break his gaze first since he knew that the goat would notice and start asking questions.

One of the disadvantages to having a soothsayer for a housemate is that it felt as if all of your innermost thoughts laid bare in front of them. This was no exception.

And it seemed that the goat knew that he knew as well as she started to furrow her brows in thought for a moment. “Something on your mind?”

“No…”

“Oogway, if you’re planning to lie to me, at least do it _well_ ,” she deadpanned with a raise of her brow.

“Well, it’s nothing important,” he muttered, scratching the back of his head with a clawed finger.

She had opened her mouth for a moment before shutting it and dropping whatever she was going to say with a quiet sigh. “Listen, I need to go now– I really want to see both you and Shen at the festival, but don’t you think for a moment this is over, alright?”

The tortoise looked away uncertainly, his previous reasoning for not doing so be damned. She knew how relentless when it came to this, and whether out of sleep deprivation or realizing that his situation was futile, he didn’t feel like making a huge fuss about it now.

While she wasn’t exactly satisfied with his overall reaction, Mei trotted out of the house and slammed the door behind her and left him with his thoughts… at least for a moment or so before the door swung open, her head poking into the house. “Oh, wait I forgot to mention something.”

“And what would that be?”

Mei gave a lopsided sort of grin. “Make sure Shen doesn’t use my scrying bowls as eating bowls again, alright?”

He scrunched up his face in mild disgust, but nonetheless he nodded in acknowledgement.

“Good.”

She slammed the door shut once more, which caused a frustrated crow to sound out in one of the rooms and its source to come out of said room in a flurry of white feathers.

“Some people are trying to _sleep_ here!”

“…H– hey, Shen,” the tortoise mumbled weakly, trying to ignore the scent of something _rotting_ emanating from him.

Oogway had hoped that Mei would come back so he wouldn’t have to face him alone. At least when the goat was here, he would at least _pretend_ to tolerate his presence.

The named bird looked over to him, one of his red eyes twitching. “What?”

He couldn’t help but let his head shrink back into his shell. “Mei already left for the Dragon Boat Festival– if you’re wondering where she is.”

Shen straightened up, a smile tugging one side of his beak at the sight of the tortoise retreating. “Right, of course,” he said evenly, before muttering under his breath acidly, “The Valley-wide reading.”

He nodded quickly, trying to ignore his tone. Oogway could never understand why he was perpetually surly during the Dragon Boat Festival– or at least, more than usual. From what he understood, it was a lively celebration filled with eating and drinking and boat racing (mostly the latter two).

The tortoise couldn’t help but grimace at the thought of trying to convince Shen to come along with him, _today_ of all days…

“Well, I suppose it’s good publicity for her,” he mused aloud with a roll of his eyes before slinking towards the kitchen to scrounge up some leftovers that would meet his standards.

Much to the bird’s chagrin, he could practically feel the other’s gaze on him.

The dining area in question was made for practicality and was connected to the main room, which wasn’t too surprising seeing as they were living near farmland. The bird couldn’t help but think that they could have afforded something better if it weren’t for…

He couldn’t help but make an annoyed noise at the thought as he haphazardly threw the remains of last night’s dinner into a bowl. _At least he was pulling his weight_ , he thought.

A pause. “…Shen.”

“I don’t want to hear it,” he said sourly as he sat down across from him.

“But Shen…”

“How many times do I have to say it?” the bird glared at him. “Or am I speaking too _fast_ for you to understand, _wángbādàn_?.”

Oogway looked down at his clawed fingers at the partially true admonishment. “The scrying bowl,” he managed to blurt out without interruption.

The answer seemed to surprise Shen into a pause long enough to say his thought. “You're… eating from the scrying bowl. Mei wanted me to warn you about… not doing that.”

The bird continued to glare at him. “How considerate of her,” he said flatly before looking down at the bowl and grimacing at the burnt china. There was no doubt that the ashes– which really, could have been the remains of anything– contaminated the food.

There was a long pause after that, and both of them refused to look at each other in the eye as they feigned interest in everything else that was in the room– the pots and pans, the empty chairs, even the small potted plants that the tortoise had scattered across the house.

Oogway heaved an exasperated sigh. “Shen, please– for three years she’s done this, and every year she gets tired.”

This seemed to cue no verbal response, but at least he was looking at him now. “I bet it would mean the world to Mei if she actually saw you enjoy yourself for once.”

There was a moment of silence between the two of them. While the tortoise was used to such a thing, the fact that he was in the vicinity made it all the more… _ominous_ , to say the least.

After what seemed like forever, Shen had stood up and dusted off some black powder that had lingered on his clothes.

“W– well?” Oogway ventured.

Again, his heaved an overdramatic sigh as he tucked his wings in his sleeves. “If you’re expecting me to go outside like this, then you’re sorely mistaken.”

His eyes had lit up as soon as he processed what the other said. “You mean you’ll go?”

“My only alternative is to starve,” Shen said with a shrug. “So I… suppose.”

And with that, he had trudged back to his room to get a change of clothes that _didn’t_ smell like his feathers had been singed off, leaving Oogway alone with his thoughts once again.

The tortoise finally let go of the breath he didn’t even know he was holding. Perhaps it was naivete talking, but a part of him wanted to hope that after the festival, Shen would start being more affable– that they could start being on speaking terms. At the very least, he wanted to not feel as if he would get a talon to the face every time they spoke.

Oogway shook his head as he made his way to take the scrying bowl’s contents out, putting it in a sack meant for garbage. The dream from earlier still lingered at the back of his mind in the most frustrating of ways.

He… he needed some fresh air. _Yes, that’s it_ , he thought. Besides, he doubted that Shen would be out in a few minutes. Knowing him, he’d take a while to prepare himself, and he’d rather not just sit around waiting for him.

Slowly, he made his way outside– taking the extra precaution to not slam the door. 

He took a cleansing breath as he quietly observed the small garden growing near their shared house, as well as all the paddy fields in front of him. However, his gaze had wandered to the mountains and peaks that surrounded the Valley, before finally resting at the peak of one that held the Jade Palace.

Oogway didn’t know why, but he felt like this will be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (EDIT) Have some translations to things.
> 
> The title of the fic itself, Bùkěsīyì, means "mysterious, unimaginable, incomprehensible", or when translated literally-- "cannot ponder the significance of". The reasons for choosing the word as the title mostly lies in the latter definition.
> 
> Wángbādàn (the thing Shen calls Oogway), is a terrible pun. Not like "ha that's really corny" terrible, but legitimately terrible depending on how you look at it. It essentially means... er. "Illegitimate child", but it literally means "turtle egg/kid".


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even the Jade Palace seems to be bustling with excitement, as its doors are opening to the public for the Dragon Boat Festival.

High on top of a mountain stood the Jade Palace, a stalwart guardian of the valley that had been in its shadow. For centuries, it, as well as the masters that were housed in it, had been the subject of many folktales and legends.

However, it had been the subject of rumors as of late. The grand master– an aging giant panda by the name of Po Shan– had recently announced that the doors to the Jade Palace would be open to the public, just in time for the Dragon Boat Festival. He had even gone to great lengths to even set up the Valley-wide reading up there.

The rumors had even captured the attention of the servants of the Jade Palace, who knew just as much as the citizens below and were just as curious. They had spoken amongst themselves as they prepared everything as efficiently as they could, considering the time constraint.

A red panda’s ear twitched at a conversation he could faintly hear from far across the arena.

_“Maybe he just wants some fun– when was the last time the grand master did something for himself?”_

A sudden rush of air had brought Shifu back to the task at hand. He had _just_ barely deflected the oncoming flurry of attacks. With a jerky movement of his bo staff, he had sloppily intercepted the incoming strikes from all sides, be it fist or wing or tail.

Finally the older masters relented and simply surrounded him, giving him a chance to catch his breath. Instinctively, he had bowed deeply to all of them.

The first voice, clipped, was the first to ring out. “Your focus was broken.”

His eyes snapped back to the source of the voice. Master Tigress looked down at him with a frown. She had a hard glint in her eyes, the type that suggested to him that she was scrutinizing everything he had done up until now.

Her gaze shifted, and for a brief moment their eyes made contact. The red panda quickly gazed back down to his feet, as if that would help him fend off against her stare.

“In the heat of battle, your opponent would have gained the upper hand,” she continued. “You would have been slaughtered instantly.”

Shifu’s ears twitched again– this time at the word choice. While she was probably speaking from decades of experience, the idea of dying (rather horrifically, at that) left his throat dry.

“Tigress, that’s _enough_ ,” Viper interjected, giving her comrade an unamused glance.

An uncomfortable silence followed, which had ended with a sigh from Tigress. She had bowed stiffly at her student. “That will be all today.”

And with that, she had walked away. Shifu’s posture slackened from his bow and his arms hanging freely from his sides. His eyes darted to the place where Tigress was, and a dull ache had settled in his stomach.

A hand had reached out to the red panda’s shoulder, and he couldn’t help but bristle. His mind was still attuned to fight and to knock off the offending hand and defend himself. He was met with a (albeit faint) gap-toothed smile from Master Monkey.

“Come now, you should get ready,” he said. “Training’s postponed for the festival.”

Shifu bowed once more to the remaining masters before making his way to the bath houses. On his way, he had passed a multitude of servants flitting about in various degrees of panic as they cleaned every possible surface of the Jade Palace and closed off several areas to the general public.

His pace slowed down when he had reached the foot of the stairs that led to the Sacred Hall of Warriors. For a brief moment, he swore he could have saw the faded red of Tigress’ robe before she had entered. A part of him could help but wonder whether she was involved with the set of circumstances that led to the Jade Palace opening its doors.

Shifu’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of flapping, followed by the faint sound of his name… which was slowly getting _louder_ by the second.

“…Shifu!”

He turned around, dodging at the last second the mass of feathers and gold robes that had hurtled towards him… causing it to unceremoniously tumble to the ground.

The red panda raised a brow. “Hey, Ping.”

The named goose stood himself up, trying to collect both his breath and bearings. Immediately after, he had started to cling onto the other’s shoulders and started to shake him. “I figured it out!”

“…What?” Shifu winced. Not only was Ping yelling way too close to his now-ringing ears, and the pressure on his shoulders was growing more uncomfortable as time passed. Even if the goose never made past basic kung fu training, he had _quite_ the grip.

The goose leaned forward, whispering cryptically, “Oh, but we should probably speak about this in private, you know?”

“No, I _don’t_ know.”

Despite his best efforts of being discreet, Ping was bouncing on his feet at this point, causing several servants to glance at the pair confusedly. “Oh, alright, you dragged it out of me,” he said with an overdramatic huff before continuing. “You know how this year, the Dragon Boat Festival’s coming up here, right?”

The red panda nodded hesitantly, wondering where exactly where he was going with this.

“Well, why bother doing it in the first place?” Ping continued. “I mean, it never happened last year, or the year before that, or the year before _that_ –”

“I get it.”

“Anyway, think about it,” he said. “When was the last time the Jade Palace was open to the public?”

Shifu paused, stroking the whiskers on his chin in contemplation. He swore that one of the old masters had told him a story with circumstances similar to this, but the answer was just out of reach.

“In a way, it’s kind of fitting that it’s open on the _Dragon_ Boat Festival,” Ping added. “Dad always liked that kind of… irony?”

 _Wait_.

The red panda took in a sharp intake of breath at the sudden realization, staring at the other with wide eyes. “The last time this happened was when your dad– I mean, the grand master– was chosen as the D– Dr–”

The next words were lodged in Shifu’s throat, as excitement and fear bubbled up in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

As Tigress walked further into the Sacred Hall of Warriors she couldn’t help but notice the lone figure sitting down in meditation in front of the Moon Pool. If it weren’t for the candles surrounding him, then she would have never noticed him.

“Po, you don’t have to do this,” she ventured as she came within earshot.

Upon closer inspection, the grand master had been dozing off, quietly snoring away for a few moments before being roused awake. “H’whu?” he mumbled, wiping the drool that had been forming at the side of his mouth. “Tigress, how… long’ve you been standing there?”

She raised a brow in grim amusement. “Long enough,” she replied, before adding, “Besides, Mantis said you should be staying in bed for two more days.”

Po scoffed, picking himself up with the help of the peach tree staff. “Relax, I’m fine,” he said with a faint smile that never quite reached his eyes. “Besides, there’s no time like the present.”

She crossed her arms, thoroughly unconvinced by the whole prospect. “Po, we could easily postpone your announcement–”

He shook his head, his gaze drifting back to the distorted reflection of the dragon overhead. “I need to find my successor for the title of Dragon Warrior… and stuff,” he said, coughing softly into his free hand. “Besides, I’m not getting any younger here.”

Tigress frowned. Sometimes she had forgotten that despite his youthful vigour and zest for life, he was the oldest out of all of them. And as try as he might to hide his slowing down, it was a noticeable change when he stopped participating in training spars…

No, she shouldn’t think like that. This was supposed to be a momentous occasion– Po was going to choose the next Dragon Warrior. And considering their… rather _limited_ options in students eligible of such a title, she had no doubt that Shifu would the prime candidate for it.

Nonetheless, she entertained the next question in her mind. “But who would be worthy of being the Dragon Warrior?”

Po raised a brow, as if he had understood why she asked. “Dunno,” he said with a shrug.

* * *

The Valley was bustling with celebration, even in the morning. Stalls selling sticky rice dumplings lined the streets, especially near the rivers where the dragon boat races had just begun to be set up. The air was buzzing with excitement for the day ahead.

Meanwhile, a tortoise and a bird had been perusing the grounds. The latter had been arguing with a vendor, while the former had been scratching at the scales on his hands.

For a while, Oogway had been silently observing Shen arguing with the vendor over the prices with an uninterested frown– both of their words blurred into each other, and he couldn’t decipher heads or tails of anything they were saying. His attention waned to different stalls selling sticky rice dumplings and realgar wine, as well as the little groups formed as a result of people betting on who would win the dragon boat races.

…Speaking of which, he couldn’t help but notice a dark, fuzzy looking shape that looked out of place between the assorted geese, pigs and rabbits that had gathered. It had a long tail with a pointed muzzle pointed straight at them. Whoever it was, they’ve been looking at them for a while.

They finally noticed that the tortoise was looking at them before tripping on their feet and running off across the street.

“Er, Shen–”

The named bird rolled his eyes. “Keep your shell on,” he snapped back, before returning to his conversation with the vendor. After a few moments, it seemed as if the both of them had reached some sort of agreement, practically throwing down the yuan for this week’s food.

As both the tortoise and bird walked off, silence continued to linger between the both of them. If it weren’t for the background chatter, it would have been a lot more unnerving. As the both of them neared the main street leading to the Jade Palace, he couldn’t help but glance at Shen expectantly. Unlike Mei, he was much easier to read.

Unfortunately, the things read from his expressions were never any good– at least when he was around. The bird seemed to be lost in thought, looking at something at his left with a scrutinizing glance. Whatever caught his attention, it annoyed him to no end. The sound of howling laughter rang out amongst the chatter from the villagers.

“W– what are you looking for?” Oogway ventured.

Shen made a grunt of annoyance. “Nothing that concerns you,” he said with a frown. Unlike most times, his anger wasn’t directed at the tortoise. While the change was welcome, it was nonetheless… concerning.

“Are you looking for the…” the tortoise paused for a moment, not sure on what to call it. “Pointy fuzz guy?–”

The bird gave him a confused look.

Oogway put up his clawed fingers to his head to represent ears. “Dark fur and pointy snout– they were looking at us for a while,” he said before adding, “Do you know them?”

The other’s eyes widened as his beak hung slightly ajar, brows furrowed in concern– a look he rarely saw on the bird. No words came out when he expected Shen to accuse him of something or other.

“Don’t wait up for me,” he said cryptically.

Before Oogway had time to process what he said, he had ran up the thousand steps that led to the Jade Palace… leaving the tortoise standing awkwardly in the middle of the street, awkwardly clutching at the bag in his arms. Ongoers looked at the bird with a confused glance, not used to seeing someone rush around in the normally peaceful village.

The tortoise couldn’t help but mumble something under his breath in exasperation, adjusting his grip and looking down at the groceries with a frown. Whatever had caught his attention, it had spooked him.

Alright, perhaps _spooked_ wasn’t the right word to describe Shen just then, Oogway thought with a frown. His point still stood, though. While he didn’t understand a lot of things about this place, he wasn’t _that_ foolish to not realize that something was wrong.

The familiar thought process of trying to piece together the possible reasons slowly came to him. While it had been quite a while since he felt this way, in a way it was a relief.

In the end, curiosity won over. He made his way up the steps, resolute in the possibility of finding the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first half of this chapter was mostly to set up how the Jade Palace and its inhabitants... 'operate', per se. While in this AU, Tigress and Shifu essentially switch roles, the fact that the rest of the Five are there to support and play off her makes for a notable difference. There's also the fact that Tigress and Po are kind of on an equal playing field, contrasting how Shifu and Oogway are in canon.
> 
> Originally, Po's surname wasn't going to change but I wanted to keep up the 'same yet different' vibe the AU gives. (Also, Shifu's name in this AU is really ironic now, since he's a student, ehe.)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Valley-wide reading ends on an unexpected note.

Po couldn’t help but feel a bubbling sort of excitement as the villagers started to come in droves and slowly filled up the spectator areas. It had been quite a while since the Palace was so lively. He never realized how much he was missing until now.

“Er, Dad…”

The giant panda turned around with a grin on his face, before picking his son up and bringing him into an embrace. Ping let out a wheezing honk that bordered between surprise and embarrassment, wriggling awkwardly in his father’s arms.

“Ping! Look at you!” he said in a booming voice. “All grown up.”

The goose flailed uselessly again as he tried to avoid the gaze of the Five who had just arrived on stage as well (especially Monkey and Mantis, who looked like they were snickering under their breath).

Finally, Tigress spoke up. “Po, you’re suffocating him.”

The named panda made a face. “Ti’, I’m his _dad_ – it’s kind of my job.”

“No, I mean you’re _literally_ suffocating him– you’re hugging him too tight.”

Po looked back at his son, who had been letting out quiet, wheezy honks of discomfort. He couldn’t help but let out a sheepish laugh before letting his grip loosen and setting him back down. “Sorry, son.”

“It’s alright,” he mumbled as he tried to regain his bearings. Before long, Ping dizzily waddled to where Shifu was and began to talk excitedly among themselves.

“There’s a lot more people than I expected,” Crane said warily, watching how quickly the spectator area had been filling up. “We _could_ have an overcrowding problem very soon.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Po replied with a grin. “I mean, it’s not every day the Jade Palace opens up like this, so I think we can afford a _bit_ of a crowd, you know?”

“The crowd isn’t the problem,” Tigress said stiffly. “It’s what could be  _in_ it.”

The giant panda frowned. “Ti’, if it’s bandits you’re worried about, then they’re kind of dumb to attack a place where– _like_ – seven kung fu masters are in,” he explained, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You shouldn’t worry so much.”

She sighed, nodding stiffly after a moment.

* * *

With every heavy footfall Oogway breathed heavily as he made his way up the stairs, clinging to the bag as if his life depended on it. Despite the amount of farm work he did over the course of three years, he still got winded by climbing stairs.

Then again, he did _that_ pretty slowly too, he thought with a frown. His natural speed paired with a lack of motivation was a terrible combination, but he felt like he owed it to Mei to put in _some_ effort.

Despite his better judgement, he briefly turned his head back to see how far he had walked.

The color of the houses below was starting to meld together into masses of shapes only broken up by roads. Beyond that, the farmlands looked like a patchwork quilt– the kind he would always mysteriously found on him every time he woke up during the winter. He tore his eyes away from the sight as an uncomfortable feeling started to brew in the pit of his stomach.

Besides, the Jade Palace was in view, he thought. He should focus on that for now.

Once he had reached the peak, the doors leading inside were already closed. As if on cue his legs had collapsed.

He _knew_ he should’ve walked up two steps at a time.

A string of frustrated sounding words started to come out of the tortoise’s mouth as he picked himself up. He couldn’t help but to drop the bag out of frustration, letting some of its contents spill out as he made his way to the door and pushed as hard as he could.

 _Locked_ , Oogway thought with a frown.

“Hey!” he called out. “Can anyone let me in?”

The chatter of the crowd left him unheard, and he couldn’t help but slam his head on the door out of frustration repeatedly. After a few moments he paused, realizing that there was a small hole where the double doors met.

From his rather limited vantage point, he could see some sort of pre show happening before the reading. In the distance he saw a small  _thing_ jump up higher than the walls– higher than the viewing area, even.

He stepped back to have a better view of what was happening. No soon after, a flurry of arrows had been shot upwards in its direction. With a speed the tortoise had never seen before, it had deflected each and every arrow (or perhaps _broken_ them, he thought).

He couldn’t help but wince at the sunlight as he tilted his head even higher. The shape was gone from the sky, but it _did_ give him an idea. If he couldn’t go through the doors, he’ll have to go _over_.

The tortoise looked around until his sights were on a nearby tree, with its branches just reached over to the other side of the wall. Across from it stood a small cart of fireworks, surrounded by crates.

Alright, _this_ he could work with.

Oogway limbered up before he began to push the cart beside the tree, straining all the while due to the weight of the fireworks that it held. The sound of applause, followed by the grand master announcing the next act barely registered as anything besides a set of noises that indicated that time was, _indeed_ , passing. Even if his arms and legs felt like they were going to fall off, he went on to pull all the crates over into something that resembled a precarious pile than a staircase.

The tortoise took a step back to marvel at the work he did, which basically amounted to a stack of crates that led to the roof of the fireworks cart, which in turn led to the branches that went over the outer walls of the Jade Palace.

…Mei was going to _kill_ him for this, he thought with a frown. But he’ll deal with that when he had to deal with it.

He was snapped out of his reverie by the sound of applause, and the grand master’s next words.

“…And now for the final act!”

He was running out of time.

He clambered up the crate staircase, trying to balance speed and not tripping and breaking his carapace. Then he jumped onto the roof of the cart, which creaked and shuddered under his weight. He could hear a loud _snap_ , and the corner of the roof he’d been standing on gave way.

Without thinking, he jumped forward to the tree branches and clung onto it for dear life just before part of the roof had collapsed. He shifted his weight on the branches as they creaked softly under his weight.

As he crawled forward, he briefly looked out to the crowd below. Villagers of all shapes and sizes were waiting in bated breath, but yet he couldn’t find Shen anywhere. He was in such a hurry to get up here, Oogway had expected to see him around _somewhere_.

Well, he supposed he shouldn’t be too worried about him, he thought with an annoyed huff. He probably got a better spot to watch the reading. As the tortoise batted away some leaves obscuring his vision, he looked ahead to the main stage expectantly.

* * *

The grand master made a grand sweeping gesture towards the crowd in front of him, and almost immediately the people quieted down. His expression was neutral, but it seemed that he couldn’t keep it for long as his mouth upturned into a goofy grin a few moments later.

“So, how are all of you enjoying the festival, huh?” he said eagerly. “I heard that the dragon boat race was a close one–”

Tigress cleared her throat impatiently.

The giant panda chuckled awkwardly, looking back at his fellow masters (and also his confused son) with a smile for a brief moment before looking back out to the expectant crowd.

“I suppose I shouldn’t keep all of you waiting for too long,” he said, clearing his throat. “I know you’re all here for the reading.”

“Anyway, may I present to you– the Valley Soothsayer!”

Mei Yee stepped forward and made a flourishing gesture that ended with a bow– she couldn’t help but let her mouth curl up into a knowing smile as the crowd applauded.

The grand master leaned down to her level and handed a torch to her. “Knock ‘em dead, alright?”

Its handle was intricately carved with a pair of five clawed dragons that spiraled upward with mouths agape as if they were breathing the torch’s fire themselves. Even now, the detail on it had always fascinated her.

“Of course, Grand Master Po,” she mumbled, looking back out towards the crowd. She couldn’t see either Shen or Oogway anywhere, and she couldn’t help but sigh. Slowly, she took a deep breath, smoothing out her expression to a relatively neutral one as she looked over the offerings collected in the fire pit.

After a few moments, she lowered the flame into the fire pit, letting it burn a piece of cloth before it spread. Returning the torch back to the grand master, she continued to fan the flames meticulously with a wave of her hands. As smoke of different colors began to form, she guided them upward into a cloud.

The world around Mei felt as if it was slowly becoming more distant to her as she went deeper in her self-induced trance.

The smoke billowed up placidly, yet she felt uneasy and she could feel a buzzing sensation at the back of her head. The sensation only grew as she could make out the shape of countless eyes and feathers.

Mei shakily stepped away from the smoke.

_Not this, not now._

Suddenly, the smoke had changed color as it condensed into two slender forms that were avian in nature. Both of them sported crests on their heads and impossibly long tail feathers. The both of them flew around each other for a few moments until the smoke shifted into the Valley of Peace. The image hung there briefly before smoky feathers descended and covered the land, practically smothering the area.

“The lord and lady of Gongmen,” she breathed out fearfully, however her voice sounded distant.

Po had finally noticed the goat’s strange behavior. “…Are you alright?”

The grand master’s concern fell on deaf ears as the blood pounded in Mei’s ears.

The smoke had blinded her to everything that wasn’t the vision. Out of fear, or perhaps something she couldn’t quite explain she couldn’t tear her eyes away from it, despite the fact that her mind had practically been screaming at her to do so.

She stumbled over her cloven feet, leading one of the masters to catch her before she fell. She flinched at the touch, but was too tired to bring herself back up.

The sensation of hands on her back had left, and she was left stumbling to stand up as a golden dragon rose up in a spiraling motion from the smoke. However, as it reached its peak, the color faded and blew away to reveal one as green as the Palace’s namesake.

“They will take this Valley unless a warrior with virtue as clear as jade will rise up against them,” she said, the words too achingly familiar to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fact: the fortune telling scene is one of the first things I've written for this AU. Also making up the wording for the prophecy and the visuals was kind of a pain, ehe.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Dragon Warrior is finally chosen.

Once the smoke dissipated, Mei could only look back up to the smoky remains with a look of blank shock. The crowd’s confused murmurs were practically deafening to her– the masters’ even more so. As the dawning realization of what the smoke had just shown, what she had just _said_ had settled in, she couldn’t help but panic. “Grand Master, I can explain. I–”

The aging panda put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’s fine.”

“But–”

“You’ve done well,” Po said. “Besides, it looked like that prediction took a whole lot outta you.”

Her mind and her heart were racing out of fear, leaving her to stare and wonder how the grand master could stay so calm. Before she could get a word in edgewise, she was quickly ushered off the stage by Palace servants.

“Well, I suppose this is as good of a segway as any,” Po mumbled under his breath as he faced the audience once again. “There is another reason as to why I’ve opened the doors of the Jade Palace today.”

The giant panda paused for effect, letting his words sink in for a moment.

“Let me be frank– I’m not getting any younger,” he began. “Which is why I’ve decided that today, I’ll choose a new Dragon Warrior to be my successor.”

The crowd made a collective gasp and immediately silenced themselves. The trees rustled as if they, too understood the gravity of the situation– _especially_ the one that was near the entrance.

“The Dragon Warrior is in our midst,” the panda said cryptically. “Everyone, take your positions.”

* * *

Oogway had partially fallen off his perch out of surprise at the announcement. Now he was laying awkwardly with his arms clinging onto the top of the wall for dear life, while his legs were hanging off the branches.

First both Shen _and_ Mei were acting strangely, now _this_? This was growing into an interesting day.

He had only heard stories from Mei about the amazing powers the Dragon Warrior wielded. From immeasurable strength that could bring an entire army to their knees, to wisdom that gave them the answers they needed, only those who have proven themselves the highest caliber of warrior could have such a title.

He couldn’t help but look towards the masters (who were now setting themselves up to stand by each other side by side on the arena) and wonder who would be the lucky one to get such a prestigious title.

…Speaking of strength, _his_ was waning. His grip on the tiles had begun to slip, and in a fit of panic he had pushed himself forward with his legs in an attempt to balance himself.

However, he had underestimated the amount of force he had used, leaving him balancing precariously on the inside walls.

In the distance, he could see Mei, who had immediately seen him. While he couldn’t see the look on her face, she had brought both hands to her face.

He couldn’t help but look away out of embarrassment. She was  _definitely_ going to kill him after this.

The tortoise tried to find some sort of purchase on the walls in order to balance himself out, but his struggling made it even worse. He had immediately lost his balance, and he had instinctively held his hands out to break his fall.

It left Oogway doing an awkward handstand against the wall, and a painful one at that. The palms of his hands took the brunt of the force, and he couldn’t help but hiss in pain as he fell out of his position and into a crouch. He stood a few moments later, dusting the bits of rock that clung on his skin.

He couldn’t help but frown at how _terrible_ his vantage was. He could barely see half of the masters now.

 _New plan_ – figure out who the new Dragon Warrior was, _then_ get questions answered. Such as why both her and Shen were acting so strangely.

He tried to weave through the crowd as discreetly as possible– a difficult endeavor considering that his shell was bumping into every other person he passed. Reflexively, he started to mumble apologies under his breath as he tried to ignore the expressions on the crowd’s face.

He was too focused on what was up ahead that he didn’t watch where he was going. When he was a few paces shy of being in the front, his foot had stepped into something prickly– like dried up grass– which was shortly followed by a yelp.

“Watch where you’re going!” a scratchy voice rang out from the lull of the murmurs around him. From beyond his periphery vision he saw a hand– dark and clawed– reach out and push him forward.

The force had caused him to break through the rest of the crowd that was in front of him. Before he could process what just happened, he was immediately pulled back with something bringing his arms behind his back.

“I _knew_ I heard something.”

He looked back. While several of the masters were looking at him with confusion, there were two that looked as if they were ready to _literally_ kick him out. The first was a red panda, reeling in a punch. The other was Master Tigress, who was the one that brought his hands back in the first place.

Beyond that, the dark shape from earlier was moving away, quickly blending into the crowd.

The grand master’s voice chimed in. “Tigress, let go of him.”

“He just _assaulted_ you!”

Oogway turned back, a noise of disagreement bubbling in his throat as he fervently shook his head. But nevertheless, he was eventually freed.

“I– I–” he managed to stammer out, nervously smacking his lips. On top of annoying almost everyone here, he had bumped into the grand master like a complete _idiot_.

But instead of anger like he expected, the giant panda’s eyes widened in surprise. “How interesting.”

Shifu stepped forward, brows furrowed in confusion. “Are you… pointing at me, Master?”

The tortoise looked back at the grand master, who _was_ indeed pointing. In his panic, he almost forgot why they were all here. The Dragon Warrior— _right_.

He only nodded in agreement– even if the hand was pointing at something above and past the other’s comically large ears, it _had_ to be him.

Po shook his head, hand still fixed to pointing at something past the tortoise. “Him.”

Oogway looked behind him in confusion, expecting some other master he didn’t notice to step forward. Instead, all he saw was the crowd rapt with excitement as he felt a hand lift his up. Before he could ask what the grand master was doing, the next words shocked him.

“Meet your new Dragon Warrior, everyone!”

Before the tortoise could protest, cheers rang out from the audience and fanfares played. Out of nowhere, a palanquin carried by a quartet of pigs had appeared. Before he had any time to process what was happening, he had quickly belly flopped awkwardly onto the seat and was carried away.

The giant panda couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath at the sight. He couldn’t help but be reminded of the time _he_ was chosen–

“Po, are you _serious_?”

The named panda turned around, only to see an irate Tigress. The rest of the Five were no better, as they all had expressions ranging between annoyance and confusion.

Tigress snarled. “You were about to choose Shifu and then that _– that_ –”

“I’m _pretty_ sure that he was a turtle,” Crane chimed in, adding under his breath, “Never seen one that big, though–”

“That’s not the point!” she snapped back, before facing Po once again. “You were about to choose Shifu before he bumped into you by accident.”

The panda gave a lopsided grin. “There are no accidents.”

As if on cue, a noise rang out from the tortoise being scrutinized in question. The masters’ gaze fell on Oogway, who had found himself in a precarious situation of falling off the palanquin when going up the stairs. Tigress couldn’t help but gesture to the display, as if that would prove her point.

The panda only chuckled under his breath.

Before Tigress could make a proper retort, the panda had silently wandered off the arena. At times like this, she wished that it was easier to figure out what was going on in his mind.

Shifu stepped forward, finally having the chance to bow deeply towards them. “Masters, I apologize. I’ve failed you all…”

Tigress only sighed quietly, her gaze cold. “No,” she began. “If he doesn’t leave by sunrise, then I would have failed you.”

Viper looked back up at her flatly. “Don’t do anything drastic,” she said in a warning tone. “He’s probably as _lost_ as you are.”

She gave her comrade a flat look in kind. “Of course,” she finally said, albeit in a stilted manner that suggested that she was trying to keep her anger under wraps.

After Shifu had left with slumped shoulders with Ping following close behind, Tigress looked back at her teammates with a no nonsense glint in her eyes. “Well, then– I suppose we should meet the new _Dragon Warrior_.”

* * *

In her shock, Mei froze. For the brief moment the palanquin passed her she could see that the tortoise wearing the exact expression she was. He was about to say something, but before she could hear it she felt a feathered hand pulling her away.

“Shen!” she protested as she dragged her feet stubbornly. “What’s going on?”

His eyes darted to each face in the shifting crowd warily, almost as if he were expecting something to pop out. “We need to leave.”

The goat looked back at the palanquin that had been moving its way up the steps to where the Sacred Hall of Warriors resided. A greenish blob flailed in an attempt to balance itself. “But what about–”

“Forget about him, Mei,” he said, his beak a ghost of a scowl.

She glared at him, pulling her hand out of his (admittedly weak) grip. Sure, Shen made it no secret that he didn’t care much for the tortoise, but most times he didn’t say it so blatantly.

“H– he’ll get hurt up there,” the goat snapped back. “I need to talk to the masters, I’m sure this was just a big misunderstanding–”

“Mei Yee, didn’t you see the wolf here?”

She froze, the vision– the image of millions of eyes– still fresh in her mind. Her hands began to adjust her sleeves in an attempt to hide her trembling. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Doesn’t mean–” Shen said incredulously, pointing an accusatory finger towards the remains of the reading from earlier. “The day that _fortune_ comes up again, a wolf is here. If it really is coincidence, then…”

Mei’s gaze, despite the other’s reprimanding, fell back to the palanquin making its shaky ascent.

The bird sighed, grabbing her hand once again. “If it makes you feel any better, he’ll probably be safer up here,” he said before adding derisively, “Considering the masters' moral code, they'd probably  _die_ for him.”

She stayed silent, looking down at the ground out of frustration. “I don’t want to go,” she mumbled, a plea more than anything.

Shen didn’t bother to respond as he led her away from the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Fun fact: Oogway doesn't know what a wolf is, hence his strange description of it in Part 2.)
> 
> Initially, this part and Part 3 were meant to be one huge mega chapter but I figured that would've been way too long. Plus I wanted to stop on a cliffhanger (even if one sees the original premise, its not too much of a shock in that regard.)
> 
> The next part is going to take a bit longer to refine since I need to brush up on my ability to write action scenes. And how the Five interact with each other, as well as Oogway.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the first day of training doesn't go well. No one is happy with this.

By the time the palanquin reached its destination, the front pair of pigs that had been carrying Oogway had collapsed, resulting in him tumbling off the palanquin. His plastron scraped awkwardly as he slid past the doors and inside the building. Before he could voice any protests the doors had slammed shut before he picked himself up. At least he was taken someplace  _nice_ , he supposed.

A pause.

No, it wasn’t _just_  someplace nice. The words came to him as he had a moment to process the artifacts that were in display.

 _The Sacred Hall of Warriors_ , his mind chimed in. He’s only heard stories from Mei of what was housed in here, but never in his life would he have thought that he’d see them in person. A part of him still thought that he shouldn’t be here.

The other part, much louder than the first, thought he should drink in the sights. After all, the Grand Master knew what he was doing when he chose him, right?

_…Right?_

He began to wander around the facility, and he couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by what he saw.

A stone warhammer with elaborate swirls carved on its head.  _The Cloud Hammer of Master Thundering Rhino_ , he could recall Mei saying.  _Said to cause earthquakes as it struck the ground._

Beside that, there was a painting whose top portion had been charred off, leaving a mountainous landscape and Chinese that he couldn’t understand due to how flowery the writing was. Below that was a plaque–  _Records from the first grand master._

Beyond that, there was a life sized replica of a golden langur.

… _Master Monkey of the Furious Five_?

 _It looks so lifelike_ , Oogway thought as he tilted his head. He couldn’t help but be curious about where the rest of the Five were, and be somewhat _concerned_  at how realistic the fur looked.

The statue blinked. “Impressive, huh?”

The tortoise couldn’t help but let out a yell as he backed up onto the display of the warhammer… causing it to topple to the ground and shatter the marble floor it impacted.

 _Definitely_ not _a statue_ , he thought.

As more of the Five came in, he immediately stood in front of the damage to hide it. Their expressions– ranging from annoyance to surprise, or a mix of the two– suggested that it didn’t work.

He looked away from their critical gaze sheepishly. “Um– uh,” he managed to stammer out, smacking his lips nervously. “I– I’ll fix it.”

As Tigress approached him, Oogway couldn’t help but retreat back into his shell, clutching each of his arms protectively as he was anticipating another attempt at bringing his hands behind his back.

The tortoise’s gaze went to the dragon embedded in the ceiling, to the scroll case in its jaws, then to the master’s expression. “So, how is–” he managed to say, pointing at the dragon ahead timidly.  _Supposed to work_  was what he had meant to say.

“You really think we’re just going to just  _hand_ you the secret to limitless power?” Tigress said, her brows furrowed in frustration as she saw how fervently the other was shaking his head. “You don’t belong here.”

A confused noise bubbled in Oogway’s throat as he looked at the rest of the Five, who were all now staring at Tigress.

“I told you to take it  _easy_  on him,” Viper whispered under her breath.

The only indication that she heard what she said was a quick twitch of her ear. “Do you really think an ignorant  _foreigner_  has what it takes to defeat a warlord’s army, let alone be the Dragon Warrior?”

He looked down to his hands, whose clawed fingers were clicking awkwardly with each other. “Maybe?”

“ _Wrong_ ,” she said simply, almost as if it were fact. “One must first master the highest level of kung fu, and do you know how long that takes?”

The tortoise thought for a moment, but the master answered the question for him before he could respond.

“ _Years_ ,” Tigress said. “And that’s simply time we don’t have.”

Indignation flashed on his face at the master’s impatience and jab. “But the grand master said–” Oogway began as he stepped forward, fumbling with his arms as if he were holding his point in his clawed fingers.

Before he had any time to react, Tigress struck his arm, gold ripples emanating from her fingers. A numbing sensation began to creep all the way up to his hand, resulting in his his once clenched fist to loosen.

Oogway inspected his now numb hand with wide eyes and morbid curiosity. “Pressure points?” he managed to say, the correct terminology escaping him.

“I’m surprised you know about it,” Tigress shot back in a condescending tone.

Oh, he  _knew_ , all right. He had been subject to the history of pressure points from Mei. Subject to anatomy scrolls dedicated to the subject, subject to the apparent complexity to dictate points on a tortoise… and the consequences of it if a needle goes somewhere it isn’t supposed to go.

But using it for combat purposes?  _Now, that was new_.

Tigress sighed slowly as her features relaxed into a tired, yet somewhat bitter resignation before walking off. The rest of the Five looked at her expectantly, their gaze going back to him briefly.

The feline master turned to face Oogway. “ _Well_? Don’t waste my time.”

* * *

As they’d walked off to another part of the Jade Palace, Oogway had been silent. He could feel the tension that was practically enveloped over all the masters, so he simply opted to not add any more than necessary.

To fill the silence, he was having a conversation with Mantis about the  _qi_  blockage he had to experience, saying that the numbness will dissipate slowly. And by  _conversation_ , the tortoise meant that he was nodding once in a while as the bug continued to explain these things to him.

“You must have a name, huh?” Monkey interrupted with a gapped-tooth smile, in an attempt to steer away from technical jargon.

“Oogway.”

Tigress, who had been ahead all of them looked back at him with an incredulous expression. “ _Seriously_?”

 _You’re one to talk, Master_ Tigress, the tortoise thought dryly as his gaze lowered to the ground. But he dared not voice it– instead he mumbled hastily, “It’s more of a nickname.”

They all stopped at the doors of a smaller building with an arena in front of it, and the tortoise couldn’t help but shrink back at the sudden battle cry that rang out from inside. Tigress opened the door to reveal the source of the yell.

At the far end of the training hall was the red panda from earlier, who was just a hair’s breadth from getting burnt before he jumped onto what can only be described as an oversized bowl. Overhead, spiked clubs were being pushed in his direction by servant geese. In a series of quick motions, the warrior had dodged them all with ease, his balance never faltering.

He jumped off his perch and into a path comprised of metal serpents slithering in place. Despite that, the warrior’s balance never faltered as a different type of club– one with spikes for limbs that spun around– came after him.

With a final piercing cry, he struck at the club, shattering it and sending it forward.

The tortoise instinctively ducked into his shell as the debris came flying. It ricocheted off the lip of his shell and hit his head anyway.

In the sidelines, a goose with much different clothing than the servants clapped before waving to them. Oogway didn’t want to seem rude, so he waved back in kind.

The red panda approached, glaring daggers at both him and the goose. But mostly him.

Oogway winced, poking his head out hesitantly and gave a weak smile at Shifu. “Er, do you want it back?” he offered, picking up the piece of wood hurled his way.

The only response he got was Shifu twitching his ear. A silence followed.

Tigress’ brow arched in mild amusement as she stepped to the side to show the training hall in its full glory. “Show me what you can do,  _laowai_.”

Oogway faltered for a moment, waving an incredulous hand wildly at the course. “I can’t do that!” he blurted out.

“Well, we won’t know unless you try,” the master said, her expression stern and unyielding.

He couldn’t help but pale at the sight of the still-tilting bowl, which he just realized resembled an upside down tortoise. One that had been surrounded by a multitude of spiked clubs.

“Isn’t there something less…  _pointy_?” Oogway asked.

“If you can’t handle a few scratches, then frankly I have no idea how you will hold up against an army,”  Tigress shot back.

Oogway couldn’t help but look at the rest of the Five frantically, pleading for his life with his eyes.

Ping, who had been looking at the spectacle with confused, yet curious eyes, chimed in and pointed at something past them. “There’s a dummy!”

The tortoise’s gaze followed where the other was pointing, and his gaze fell on Shifu.  _Well, that wasn’t very nice_ , he thought as he tried to hold in his snickers.

The red panda’s ears flattened against his skull yet again, his scowl growing deeper as he stepped to the side. Behind him was a strange egg-shaped doll. Oogway approached it curiously, not quite sure what to make of the dummy’s expression before nodding. At least it didn’t look like it could shatter his shell in an instant.

“ _That_  thing?” Mantis piped up. “That’s for kids!”

At the sight of the tortoise shrinking back out of embarrassment, Viper glared silently at the bug.

“He means  _beginners_ ,” the serpent said hastily. “Anyway, just hit it and we’ll work from there.”

 _Alright, sure_. He could do that– punching, that is. He limbered up his left arm, then his right. Then his left again. “My arm may not be completely healed from the whole… blocking thing–”

“Preferably while we’re still alive,  _laowai_ ,” Tigress chastised, crossing her arms.

“Yes, of course,” Oogway said, his expression pensive.

“What  _now_?”

“S– should I say something?” he asked. “In Mei’s stories, everyone always said  _something_  before attacking…”

“Just hit it already!”

With all the strength the tortoise could muster, he threw a punch to the dummy’s face. It was sent reeling back– at least for a moment before the dummy recoiled back and hit him. With a surprised yell, the tortoise stumbled back into the Serpent’s Pass.

Before the rest of the Five could react and jump in, Tigress put out a hand to stop them from going any further. While she looked towards the spectacle with a studious eye, Shifu had been eyeing it with amusement– at least for a moment.

The tortoise tried to stumble back to where he stood before, but it was no use. His feet had tangled up against each other and before he knew it, his head was suddenly lodged between the spaces between the metal Serpents. The sound of the mechanisms keeping it in motion came to a screeching halt.

Save for the feeling of blood rushing to his head, he wasn’t hurt. The only thing that was wounded here was his pride, and even then he didn’t have much going into this endeavor.

“Er, don’t worry– we’ll get you out of there!” Viper yelled out, her voice echoing around him.

There was a low murmur. Then silence. From what little he could see, Crane stepped forward to settle beside him before trying to pull him out by grabbing the lip of his shell with bead-adorned talons. Even the tortoise tried to push himself out to aid the process. The flapping of wings rang out from above him before subsiding with an exasperated squawk.

It was to no avail as the shape of the lip of his shell caught on the mechanisms whenever they attempted to pull him out.

“H– hey, thanks for trying,” he managed, trying to push the Serpents as far away from him as he can.

Silence rang. Then more talking he couldn’t hear quite right. The tortoise could hear the groaning of metal as something–  _someone_  tried to push the gap wider.

 _This was going to take a while_ , Oogway thought with a frown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translator's note: Laowai (the thing Tigress calls Oogway) essentially replaces mainverse!Shifu calling Po "panda" to demean him. The word, depending on the context means foreigner/unskilled. Oogway is both in her eyes.
> 
> ...I'm beginning to realize that all the insults hurled at Oogway are all just unsavory puns.
> 
> The Sacred Hall of Warriors scene was mostly a huge call-back/parallels to the people mainverse!Oogway has interacted with in the shorts. From Thundering Rhino in SOTM, to Monkey being the first member of the Five he interacts with to call-back to SOTFF, that was all just a treat. To me, at least.
> 
> Anyway, I had to rewrite so many things. So. Many. Things. The training hall scene was a pain to write since action is not my forte. Consider that scene a moment of me dipping my heels into that kind of writing, hence the brevity.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which night starts to encroach as a threat looms over the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a really bad habit of writing really long chapters that ultimately need to be split up-- this was originally supposed to be part of the last chapter.

After a while, the sight of everyone getting the tortoise’s head unlodged stopped being mildly entertaining and started to become irritating. The sun had begun setting once Shifu excused himself, with Ping following behind.

“…No offense, Ping, but I don’t understand why the Grand Master chose him,” the red panda snapped, his eye twitching out of annoyance. With the way his chest heaved, it was obvious that he had been ranting for quite some time without a breath to spare. “You’d think that he would choose someone who _knew_ kung fu!”

Ping fumbled with his feathered hands. It seemed the time in the training hall didn’t seem to help his frayed nerves.  “Maybe dad knows something about him we don’t?” the goose offered.

“Like _what_?”

The goose opened his mouth, only for no words to come out. He promptly closed his bill, letting out a dissatisfied tone. “Dunno.”

Shifu raised a brow. “My point exactly.”

The both of them were nearing the barracks at the top of the hill. The red panda’s ears twitched at a noise that stood out from the quiet rustling of leaves.

 _Footsteps._ Something that was less heavy than the Grand Master’s gait, but was rather weighty nonetheless.

“What’s wrong?” Ping asked, looking at the other’s ears with a questioning glance.

Shifu gave a thin smile. “Nothing,” he mumbled as he flattened and perked up his ears in a quick motion. “You know how these things are. Go ahead without me, I need to check on something.”

That answer seemed to placate the goose, as he nodded sleepily. “Alright,” Ping yawned as he closed the doors leading inside and his footfalls slowly getting quieter as he made his way further in the building.

Shifu went back to the path the both of them had been on just moments ago, his ear still twitching.  Without missing a beat, he deadpanned, “Rather _unbecoming_ of the Dragon Warrior to eavesdrop.”

The tortoise from earlier poked his head out from behind a group of large rocks, clearly flustered. A metallic tang hung around him– probably no thanks to being stuck between iron for quite a while.

“I– I wasn’t,” Oogway mumbled weakly as he walked into view. “I just… I was following you. To the…” he trailed off, his eyes pointing at the building ahead.

“ _Barracks_?”

An awkward silence followed as the tortoise nodded hesitantly.

“Don’t get too comfortable up here,” Shifu said, giving the other a scrutinising glance. Before the tortoise could get a word in edgewise, he cut him off.

“By tomorrow, this will be all sorted out,” he continued, his ears flattened against his head. “Everything will go back to the way its supposed to be.”

The tortoise made an uncertain sort of noise as he made another attempt to speak, but this time he stopped himself.

Shifu’s ears twitched. “You are not the Dragon Warrior– you will never _be_ the Dragon Warrior.”

The red panda stepped forward, and a part of him couldn’t help but revel in the fact that he managed to make the tortoise flinch. “Look at yourself,” Shifu began. “Slow in speed, even slower in mind, and that neck is a completely vulnerable area for attack.”

Oogway couldn’t help but retreat a part of his neck back into his shell, earlier events playing back in his mind.

“Do you really think you’re worthy?” the red panda eyed the other’s now twitching fingers. At least he was getting his point across. “The sooner you realize that you aren’t, the _quicker_ you’ll get over it.”

And with those parting words, Shifu walked into the barracks with his shoulders hunched over sourly, leaving the tortoise looking at the space where he once was with lost eyes.

* * *

Far beyond the Thousand Step Bridge, far beyond the mountain pass, there was a camp fit for an army illuminated by fading sunlight. A wolf sprinted to it, ignoring the empty feeling in his stomach that made his limbs weak.

He approached the camp, passing closed tents and the occasional soldier– a rather scarce amount, even for their standards.

The wolf thought back to years passed. Once, the Gongmen army was enormous– a unstoppable force to be reckoned with. But now, it was a shadow of its former self, more diminished and desperate as a result of hard times that befell on the city over the years.

If it weren’t for the fact that the city had exhausted the surrounding villages, they wouldn’t have come this far.

At the center of this rather small camp was an elaborate tent, much larger than the other ones surrounding it and guarded by a trio of gorillas. On the top flew a flag bearing an ominous looking sun scrawled in red.

The wolf had meant to stop right outside, but he had been going too fast. As a result, he barged into their quarters.

Inside, a pair of peafowl had been conversing as they looked over a map. The taller of the two stopped for a moment, muttering something to his associate– his wife, before stepping forward to meet the soldier.

These were Lord and Lady Xiang, descended from a long line of peafowl nobility said to have descended from the Vermillion Bird itself. Despite the circumstances they wore simple yet opulent robes, elaborate flame patterns curling around their sleeves and hems.

“You better have a good reason for this, wolf,” the peacock said lowly. His hand was hovering dangerously close to the sword at his side. The sound of the faint scratches of a quill writing on parchment could be heard from the peahen’s direction.

“Yes, milord,” the wolf said quickly, kneeling down one part out of forgiveness and one part to take a resting position. “I’m here to deliver a status report o– on the Valley of Peace.”

The suzerain– while still disgruntled, nodded curtly. “Very well. Continue.”

The wolf was panting heavily, almost ready to collapse. He held out his hand… if only to ask the warlord to give him a moment to catch his breath.

“The Valley…” the wolf coughed, before continuing. “Plenty of farmland. Trees. Mountains filled with minerals. Rivers flow through it, so in theory trade would be possible.”

“What about defenses?”

“Save for the mountain ranges that would make traveling difficult,” the soldier continued, standing more upright as he did so. “There’s the masters of the Jade Palace. There’s six– _seven_ , counting their star pupil to be worried about. All of them are washed up or haven’t seen a true battle.”

The suzerain’s beak curled up, but before he got a word in Lady Xiang spoke in a wary tone. “You were not meant to return until the next day. You disobeyed a direct order.”

The lord turned to his wife, then back to the soldier, a no nonsense glint in his eyes.

“But there was a good reason, I swear!” the wolf licked his lips nervously. “I found several things that may require your attention.”

“Such as?”

A pause. “I have found your so-called _heir apparent_ on the same day that prophecy comes up,” the said before clarifying, “The one with the jade warrior virtue nonsense.”

The scratching noise stopped. In fact, everything stopped– at least for a brief moment. The peafowl looked to each other for a moment before looking back at the soldier. They shared a knowing glance, one that was ultimately lost on the soldier.

“I– I’ve determined the identity of the prophesied warrior,” the wolf began, standing up once more in a rigid manner. “It’s the newly named Dragon Warrior, and it was kinda obvious when I think about it, since there was the smoke dragon and the Grand Master being–”

“I did not ask for miscellaneous anecdotes,” the peacock said with a scrutinising glance.

“Of course, milord,” he said, dipping his head low as to avert his superior’s stern gaze.

“Investigate this… Dragon Warrior, but do not attempt to confront him immediately,” Lord Xiang said, returning back to his wife’s side.

“And what of your… son?” the wolf added, hesitance on his last word.

“He is of no import to us as of now, so leave him be,” the lady cut in. “He may be useful to us later so keep surveillance on him. However, your main concern is the Dragon Warrior. Understood?”

The wolf bowed, nodding his head as he did so, before heading back out.

* * *

Back at the Valley, Shen had been pacing around in the living area listlessly for quite a while now. The sun had already set long ago and was promptly replaced with a full moon and stars.

He looked back into the room where Mei was mumbling quietly to herself in her sleep– how she managed to do so, after that reading _and_ after the wolf’s mysterious arrival was a mystery to the bird.

One part of him couldn’t help but be somewhat jealous at how soundly she was sleeping. The irrational part of him thought that this mess would have all been avoided if he trimmed the feathers on his head and tail earlier.

And the third, more cynical part of him thought that it didn’t matter in the end because he could only do so much to disguise himself and bring attention away from him.

Shen retreated back into his room, closing the door as quietly as he could. The faint scent of burning still lingered after an experiment gone awry a few days ago.

Silvery moonlight bounced off a small mirror, and Shen silently inspected himself, brushing a hand over the feathers on his head. It was growing back, he thought with a grimace. Bits of red now tinted the tips of it, as well as his already-short tail feathers.

Not that it mattered at this point, since that wolf managed to spot him. But he had grown accustomed to the routine of 'maintaining' his crest and train before they grew… _recognizable_.

While it took a few moments and errant hands grasping for something, he finally found the thing he was looking for– a small knife. He brought it to his head feathers, carefully cutting the reddish plumes out and letting them float to the floor. He did the same thing to his tail feathers in a methodical manner.

He’s quite sure that there will be consequences for trimming his feathers in the dark, he couldn’t care less at this point. He could always fix it up tomorrow, if that was the case. Shen flopped onto his bed, closing his eyes to emulate sleep but never quite achieving it.

His hand was still gripping the knife tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm, I wonder who the heir apparent is? //sarcasm
> 
> Alright, you have no idea how many times I’ve tried to edit the scene with the suzerain and his wife. Heck, even now I’m not quite that confident in writing them but I know that if I keep on fretting like this, I’ll never get this thing finished.
> 
> The last bit was originally supposed to be taken out, but I decided it was a nice little character moment. I never did mention that Shen looked different in this AU, so I figured I’d rectify it now. The reason why I never bothered bringing it up is because this narrative is primarily focused on Oogway and what he knows. He wouldn’t know what’s out of place if the out of place thing was presented to him as normal.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which training begins, more is revealed about the past, and a message rains from the sky.

Oogway couldn’t go into the barracks, not after that.

So instead he wandered around the area to familiarize himself with it, singling out the Sacred Hall of Warriors as a centering landmark. He walked on the cobbled path, making small mental notes of the buildings he never got to see earlier… and staying _far_ away from the training hall.

Stones gave way to dirt, with the occasional speckle of something. Upon closer inspection, he realized that they were petals. As he followed where they were coming from, he approached the end of the path where a peach tree grew at the edge of a cliff. Errant petals began to fall, and Oogway couldn’t help but listlessly swat at them to keep them from falling onto the ground. Any distraction at this point was a welcome one, after today’s events.

“You’ve got a good eye, finding the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom!”

The tortoise instinctively flinched at the noise, retreating back into his shell when he saw the grand master with a lantern in hand. “I– is that what this is?” he ventured hastily. “I’ll get out–”

“Honestly, it isn’t such a big deal,” Po said, tapping the edge of his shell lightly with his staff. “You aren’t the first, and you certainly won’t be the last.”

The tortoise peered out, his gaze shifting to his feet and the fallen peach blossoms surrounding him. He wasn’t really sure _what_ he should say at this point as they had only really met a few hours ago.

His attention was brought back to the grand master when he heard the hard _thwack_ of the staff hitting the bark of the peach tree. The panda set down the lantern and held out his hand expectantly. Before the tortoise could ask what he was waiting for, a peach had fallen into his grasp.

Without warning, Po threw it at him. The tortoise immediately caught it, eyeing the fruit curiously before giving it an experimental nibble.

“A bit of comfort food for you,” the grand master said with a reassuring smile before adding, “It always helps me when I’m upset.”

Oogway stopped mid-bite when he heard the latter half of Po’s statement. “I’m not upset!” he yelled, before repeating huffily in a more normal volume, “I’m not.”

Po tilted his head, his mouth curled into a concerned frown. “Do you want to talk about it?”

The tortoise made a frustrated noise, wiping the peach juice off his mouth. “It’s nothing important.”

“Well, it’s important enough to capture your attention,” the giant panda shot back good-naturedly.

The tortoise paused, frowning at the statement. “It’s just--” he began, waving his hands wildly in the air in front of him, as if that would help explain his case. “S’been a long day.”

A part of him was expecting the grand master to interrupt him at this point, but to his credit he was waiting.

“The masters are nice, but...” he trailed off momentarily, nibbling contemplatively on the peach. “But it feels… like it’s not all there. And there are some that don’t bother hiding it! Their-- their... dislike, I mean.”

There was a brief moment of silence as the tortoise looked away in shame. Who was _he_ to say such things? To judge the masters’ merits? It’s not like he could really blame them, anyway. “I shouldn’t have come here,” he mumbled as he looked back down to his feet.

“And _maybe_ you shouldn’t have.”

The tortoise looked back at him incredulously. But Po had put up his hand, asking him to wait a moment as he coughed into his sleeve.

“ _However_ , you’re here now,” Po continued. “And you can’t change that, so try not to get so worked up ‘cause all you’re going to get is an upset stomach, and no one wants that.”

Oogway couldn’t help but chuckle despite himself.

“Listen, what matters is what you choose to be now.”

He looked back down to the hand still holding the peach, then back to the Grand Master who was still smiling reassuringly.

“Anyway, I better go. It seems you have a lot on your mind,” he said with a nod, tottering off somewhere. 

The tortoise sat down beside the forgotten lantern, eating the remains of the peach with a sigh.

* * *

Shifu stood outside his room expectantly as he always did, posture straight as he expected the morning gong to ring any moment now.

As reliably as the sun rose each morning, the gong rung in the distance. The shadows of the Five could be seen from around the corner-- followed by the shadow’s owner a few moments after.

“Good morning, masters.”

The red panda looked expectantly at the vacant rooms, not quite sure which one the so-called new Dragon Warrior was assigned to. In any case, they were all quiet.

Master Tigress stormed over to the room across from him, irked at her new student’s unresponsiveness. She pulled the doors open to reveal a tidy room with a surprising lack of scale or shell anywhere.

The rest of the Five looked into the empty room, all of them puzzled.

“At least he managed to clean up,” Crane said, tilting his head as if that would change his view. Tigress went ahead and spoke to a servant outside to search for the missing tortoise, clearly rattled by the fact that he left without a trace.

* * *

Preparing for the the rest of the day went along uneventfully, albeit silently.

“We’ll continue to resume training as normal,” Tigress said, leading the way to the training grounds. The Five, along with Shifu followed close behind.

Viper frowned. “But Tigress, what about the turtle?”

“I’m sure that in time, the real Dragon Warrior will appear,” she began. “I’ll ask Po to reconsider his choice later.”

As the group neared the door, they could hear a strange shouts of what seemed to be gibberish. Tigress immediately pushed the doors open.

And there the tortoise was, trying to swing around a spear with a curved blade-- one that the master recognized as a _qinglong ji_. She also realized that he was doing it really _badly_. There were several wooden crocodile dummies surrounding him in a loose circle. He struck down at one of their spiked arms lightly, barely disturbing the mechanisms that caused its arms to whirl around.

“What are you doing?”

Oogway spun around. He held the spear in front of him, threatening to slash indiscriminately.

“U-- uh, good morning, masters!” he said hastily, trying to muster a bow. His head hit the pole of the weapon. He winced at the pain for a moment. “I’m just practicing--”

“Put the _ji_ down, _laowai_.”

The tortoise complied, letting go of it. The weapon let out a dull _clang_ as it hit the dirt.

Tigress frowned as she picked up the _ji_. “This is _not_ a toy,” she said firmly, striking the pole end to the ground for emphasis. “In the right hands…”

She handed it off to Shifu, who quickly made his way to one of them and begun to strike at at it. The wooden arms promptly reacted to the force. The bottom pair of arms threatening to trip the red panda up, while the pairs above were a silent warning on the chance he wanted to jump up to avoid the former.

“It can be devastating.”

With a quick motion, he deflected them with the _ji_ while managing to strike at the target painted at the middle. He repeated the same motions at a quicker pace as the arms gained more force behind it each time he struck at them, until finally he had struck so hard the top row of spinning arms tore right off from its wooden body.

“ _Deadly_ , even.”

Oogway ducked back into his shell as it went over his head, but his starry-eyed expression lingered. Shifu rolled his eyes, setting the _ji_ down near the weapons rack.

He looked over to the rest of the masters before nodding and making what Tigress assumed was an affirmative grunt.

“Let us begin your training, shall we?” she grimaced.

* * *

The sun had begun to set upon the Jade Palace, and despite everything he was put through, no matter what the Five subjected him to, the tortoise still stood They were looking at him with a collective scrutinizing glance, however there was mingled uncertainty in it as well.

If there was anything they agreed when it came to him, it was that the tortoise was resilient. Every lesson-- no matter how half hearted or straining-- was met with a fist-to-palm bow, even with numerous bruises and scrapes. It had been ominously silent for quite a while as Tigress thought of what to do next.

Finally, she stepped forward onto the arena. “Your next opponent will be me, _laowai._ ”

The rest of the Five looked to her, then to the tortoise with varying expressions of interest and fear. Monkey went so far as to cover his eyes from what was going to happen next.

Shifu looked on with a morbid sort of interest.

“Step forth.”

There was a moment of hesitation before Oogway complied to the feline master. Before he could process it, her hand shot out to jab at his throat. He reeled back, spluttering out a weak cough as pain shot up his neck. Before he could recover, he was met with an onslaught of punches.

He retreated both head and arms into his shell, unable to deal with them. In the shadow of his shell, his eyes looked up at her with an unwavering stubbornness.

“The tides of battle will disorient you up if you’re not prepared,” she began. “Your opponents _will_ take advantage of that weakness--”

As she pushed the tortoise closer and closer to the doors leading to the stairs, the master crouched down. With a piercing cry, she kicked his legs down in a low sweep. The tortoise fell down on his back, leaving him to awkwardly tilt to and fro on his shell as he brought his head and arms back out. His breath was erratic as he was too stunned to move.

Tigress’ silhouette was outside his field of vision, now wielding the _ji_ from earlier. She brought a foot forward to steady his rocking, leaving him in the open. “--And they _will_ break you,” the master said, brandishing the blade end as a pointer directed right at his face.

“What about spirit,” he shot back through labored breaths, pushing it away. “C-- can’t break _that_.”

The master let out an exasperated snarl, bringing the weapon up to strike. His pupils were the size of pinpricks as she struck down… and dug the blade into the ground beside his head.

“If you’re _smart_ , you’ll go down those steps,” she said with an air of finality as she loomed over him.

His gaze darted to the side out of fear. Before he knew it, her shadow was gone, and she had stalked off to another part of the Jade Palace.

Oogway could feel the oncoming footfalls of the some of the other masters, and shame crawled down his neck. Using the wedged spear as support, he managed to bring himself up without as much trouble than he expected.

Mantis was the first to speak up. “ _That_ could’ve gone better.”

* * *

The rest of the Five had gone off to find where Tigress was, and in Viper’s words, “have a long talk about what happened today”. Shifu had left without a trace once again, off to his own devices.

Since Oogway had been exploring the outside last night, he figured that he should explore the barracks this time. Taking extra caution to not enter in the doorway where he spoke to the red panda last night, he took the one further off from the path.

He was greeted with a waft of savory-smelling food. He peered into the room curiously. Inside was a kitchen, much larger than the one he had down in the Valley. On one side, the goose from yesterday was busy with cooking what seemed to be dinner.

“Hey, new guy!” he called out, waving at him. “You’re just in time for dinner.”

Before he knew it, he was seated down with a steaming bowl of soup.

“Anyway come on, don’t keep me waiting,” Ping said, inching the bowl a little closer to him. “I figure someone new would give me a fresh perspective of my cooking!”

Ping was doing most of the talking at this point, rambling at an erratic speed that at some points he couldn’t understand what he was saying. He could only manage to gulp down a few noodles as he looked blankly at the vague silhouette of himself reflected against the broth. Despite the fact that he was exhausted, he could barely eat as today’s events repeated in his mind.

“What, too much ginger?”

The tortoise looked back up to the goose, only to follow where his gaze was pointing a moment after. His fidgeting hands were causing the chopstick to clink against the edge of the bowl.

He stopped immediately and shook his head. At least he could save some face, seeing as the goose didn’t see how he got utterly humiliated. “Today just went really…it was just not very good.”

“Lemme guess, Tigress?”

There was a pause, followed by a sheepish nod. He was almost afraid to tell the truth in fear of the named master or her compatriots coming out of nowhere to refute him.

“I know she’s kind of intense, but she has her reasons-- I mean, after what happened all those years ago, I wouldn’t blame her being like… that...” Ping’s words faltered, his face scrunched up in uncertainty.

“What do you mean?”

Ping laughed nervously. “What?”

“Why she’s like that. You were about to say,” he said, eyeing the bird suspiciously.

“Uh-- well… we don’t really like talking about--”

“The rampage?”

Ping’s bill was open, but the voice that answered his question clearly didn’t belong to him. The both of them looked to the doorway to find Shifu, brow raised and gaze critical.

Ping rushed to his side and leaned in. “Shifu, we’re not supposed to _talk_ about it, _remember_ ,” the goose said in a low whisper.

“He’s going to live here,” the red panda said with feigned civility directed towards the tortoise. He moved away from Ping, yet didn’t make his way to the table, leaving him to stand in the middle of the kitchen. “I might as well _educate_ him.”

The tortoise furrowed his brows at the condescending tone, but didn’t object.

“Thirty years ago, there was a rampage that nearly tore the Valley apart,” he began, ears flattened against his head. “The masters... lost a comrade in that battle.”

Shifu’s brows were furrowed, eyes glassy with a regret the tortoise wasn’t sure how to interpret.

“If it weren’t for them, there wouldn’t _be_ a Valley of Peace,” he continued, his words too controlled to be natural. “Even so, many things were destroyed that day. Businesses, homes…”

He looked to Ping, whose eyes quickly darted down to the ground. “...Families.”

Shifu looked back up, the glassy gaze replaced with an anger that the tortoise _should_ be used by now-- but wasn’t. “And now, the Valley is going to be subject to yet _another_ rampage-- one that’s even _worse_ than before-- and only the Dragon Warrior can stop it.”

His final words were quiet and jittery out of anger and gritted teeth. It was obvious that it was taking all his willpower not to make a scene. “And she’s stuck with you-- an ignorant foreigner that can’t take this _seriously_.”

The tortoise gulped, his breath caught in his throat. His mind couldn’t think clearly as it was trying to understand what he was just told while keeping his own emotions in check.

Ping-- quite literally-- came between them, looking at both parties in concern. “Well, that’s _enough_ of that, let’s... talk about something else!” he exclaimed, clasping his hands together before looking to the tortoise. “I don’t think we got your name.”

* * *

The remaining rays of light had died off a while back, leaving night to settle down and smother the land below.

Monkey was the first to find Tigress in the stone garden, meditating in front of a slab of rock. Writing had been etched on its surface-- a reminder of what the first Grand Master valued, and what future masters upheld.

On that note, the statues of fallen masters surrounded them, imposing figures ready to cast judgement to whatever was in their earshot. Before he could get a word in edgewise, Tigress spoke. “I know what you’re about to say, and I don’t want to hear it.”

The rest of the Five were trailing behind the simian master. “Don’t you think that was a little… much?” he questioned.

“He needs to learn the reality of the situation before it kills him,” she shot back, the iron in her tone sharp.

“By beating him within an inch of his life?”

“The army will not grant him the luxury of mercy.” Tigress stood up, getting ready to retire early, until…

_Flap… flap._

Her ear flicked at the noise. And once more, when she recognized it to be the beating of wings. “Something’s coming,” she said, her gaze directed to the sky.

All of them looked up to see a small feathered body draped in simple robes struggling to keep formation. The erratic flapping of wings was growing louder and louder. Crane flew up to meet the oncoming goose, taking the poor thing in his talons and brought him to the ground safely.

It was a sentry-- one that, according to the emblem emblazoned on the robe’s back, belonged to a town on the other side of the Thousand Step Bridge. He was clearly exhausted from the flight.

The rest of the Five huddled around the bleary eyed goose. Mantis checked his vitals, Viper had gone off to get servants to help them.

“W-- wolves-- an army…” he managed to cough out.

Tigress’ stomach was tying itself into knots as she curled up her fist in anticipation of confirmation of her fears.

“Took over our town. Headed h-- here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This upload is really cutting it down to the wire. By that I mean, today is the day I’m leaving for a trip. But I digress.
> 
> The first scene in this chapter was the second thing I wrote for this AU-- the first being the fortune telling scene in Part 4. It was obviously revamped from my original draft of it, and I feel like it kinda shows how far I’ve come when writing this! If you’ve seen my liveblogging when writing the third scene, you know how difficult it was for me to write, let alone visualize it. But it’s there, and was... kinda fun to write for? That’s a first.
> 
> The _qinglong ji_ was a callback to one of my [old analyses](http://infini-tree.tumblr.com/post/140111415106/anyway-on-another-note-i-think-i-accidentally). I’ve always enjoyed peppering references to their mainverse counterparts-- it grounds the AU somewhat, makes sure that no matter what changes, they still have their “core”, so to speak.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which uncomfortable truths are revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, now we’re getting into one of the big guns I was afraid to write for several reasons. First is because I’ve  
> essentially condensed _half_ of the first movie’s run time into eight chapters, and also this is the most I’ve written for one thing. _~~Save me.~~_
> 
> Second is the (rather emotionally-charged) scenes I have to adapt in question, as well as the bigger change to one particular event in the end. I have a vague idea as to the future gameplan-- where all the notable characters should be, but its a matter of getting past one particular hurdle next chapter.

Tigress should’ve expected Po to not be in his room. Despite his state, he refused to rest, however there was one more place she hadn’t checked. She ran as fast as she could to the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom.

And lo and behold, Po stood near the edge of the cliff as he observed the Valley below. His figure was still-- at least for a moment until he shuddered and threw something over his shoulder. Battle tuned instincts made her automatically spike the projectile to the ground.

It took a moment to realize that the so-called projectile was a peach pit.

Alerted by the sound of it hitting the ground, Po turned around with a confused look. “Tigress?”

The feline master straightened up. “Po, it’s bad--”

“What, did Monkey break the kitchen rafters again?” he guessed, giving a lighthearted smile.

“No!” Tigress shot him an incredulous look, her tail swishing impatiently. “The Gongmen army _just_ took over the Wang Fu village to get supplies. They could be upon us any day now.”

He paused, his mouth agape out of shock. “Wow, that’s… even _worse_ ,” he began. Before long, his expression smoothed over into a more relaxed visage. “If you don’t believe the Dragon Warrior can stop ‘em.”

The feline master squinted at him. “The turtle?”

“ _Tortoise_ ,” he corrected lightly.

“Is now really the time to argue semantics?” Tigress sighed heavily in an attempt to regain composure. This was not the time to panic-- not when an attack could be looming over their heads right now. “Po, he’s just a foreigner! And an _untrained_ one at that! Why can’t you just admit that you picked him by accident?”

The giant panda tilted his head curiously. “’Cause there are no accidents.”

“Will you stop _saying_ that?!” she snapped, her chest heaving. “Can you, in good conscience send someone like that to meet a _whole army_?”

“I-- c’mon, Ti.” Po frowned at how erratically quick her breath was becoming. “I need you to have _some_ faith in me, and the new Dragon Warrior, too.”

Tigress’ breathing slowed down, but was much too forced to be natural. Her stare was unwavering as it was intense. “I’m only being realistic here-- you can’t win battles with _just_ optimism,” she said. The words, like her breath felt like there was an underlying force she was holding back. “That’s like saying this tree grew on its own.”

Po sighed. “Well, you’re not wrong,” he said. “But you’re not right either.”

Tigress gave him a surly look, but despite this the grand master continued. “It can help fuel that drive, and the warrior that will wield that,” he explained, giving the peach tree a firm pat. “Training is like the dirt an’ stuff-- being all nitty-gritty, while the optimism is like the… sun, y’know?”

The feline master raised a brow.

“Like, its not really that obvious how sunlight helps it out, but it _does_ ,” he clarified. “Do you get it?”

A breeze began to blow, plucking the peach blossoms off the tree and scattering them. Tigress nodded, albeit hesitantly, but it was clear that the metaphor was somewhat lost on her.

“Can you at least promise to _try_?” the giant panda asked. “To believe, I mean.”

There was a moment of silence before her shoulders slackened as an attempt to calm down. Or at least seem like it. “Alright.”

“Good.” The giant panda’s expression was unreadable as he turned around and gazed at the sky. Po let out a small sigh. “I wish I had more time,” he mumbled.

It was only then Tigress noticed the peach pits that littered the ground. Something was wrong.

The wind started howling as blossoms whipped up at his feet and begun to swirl around the giant panda, blowing off his rice hat. The feline master quickly plucked it from the air. “Po, what’s happening?” she asked, her voice desperate as her free hand clutched onto the grand master’s arm like a vice.

The silence that followed felt as endless and vast as the sky above them. Finally, Po presented her with the peach tree staff in his other hand. After seeing the confusion and desperation in her expression, he frowned.

“You need to let go,” Po said.

Tigress’ ears flattened against her head. She looked at the gnarled staff before looking back to him, shaking her head slowly. There was a grim acceptance in the panda’s eyes that she couldn’t quite understand. It unnerved her. “I can’t.”

She wasn’t given much of a choice as Po grasped her free hand. Warm paws had wrestled the staff into her stiff fingers before patting it firmly, as if to make sure that her grip would be tight enough.

“Take care of them, Tigress,” he murmured, his voice raw. “I’ll be rootin’ for you. For all of you.”

Before she knew it the gale of peach blossoms had engulfed Po, practically glowing in the moonlight. The feline master reeled back from the sudden force, shielding her eyes from the light. His body was practically melding into the flurry of flowers, his face indistinguishable from petals.

A final gust of wind, much softer than the ones before it, made the cloud of petals float placidly up into the sky. The faint glow made them blend into the belt of stars above her.

All Tigress could do at this point was stare at the space where Po was, clutching the rice hat and staff in both her hands as if she would lose them otherwise. Lose the part of him that still _lingered._

Her hands were starting to get cold.

* * *

Meanwhile in the barracks, a lively conversation continued.

“Oh, what’s the Valley like?” Ping asked, bouncing in his seat. “Is it nice? Where do you live, anyway?”

Oogway gave a confused glance. For someone who lived in the Valley all his life, he sure asked a bunch of questions about it. But regardless, he answered, albeit hesitantly. “It’s… _nice_ ,” he mumbled with a shrug. “I… kinda live a bit further away from everything.”

“Like, in the farmlands and stuff with your family?” the goose added with a tilt of his head.

As the tortoise went to slurp up some broth, he let out a splutter once the other’s sentence was processed. “Oh, no. I don’t live with…” he paused, opting to wipe the soup that was now trickling down his neck. “ _Them_. No, I live with the Valley Soothsayer-- you know, from the festival?-- And her… friend? I guess?”

Shifu’s ears flattened against his head at the mention of the Dragon Boat Festival, giving a sulky look directed towards him.

“So it’s kinda like how it is up here!” Ping offered. “I mean, up here there’s usually servants, but besides that it’s just dad, the Five, Shifu, and me-- and now you-- mushed together in the same house!”

 _Except that this house is a_ palace, Oogway thought, looking askance for a moment. And _is home to_ literal _legends._

But that was no reason to put a damper on the goose’s good mood. “Yes, _right_ …” he drawled out.

The quiet din of the kitchen was interrupted by the sound of oncoming footsteps much too loud and frantic. Ping poked his head outside, wondering what the fuss was all about before waddling down the hall. The other two followed close behind.

A few servants were flitting about with linens and some medicine, entering a guest chamber before exiting empty handed. Something was wrong.

Viper and Monkey exited the room a moment later with a grim expression… that quickly was wiped from their faces as soon as they saw the three of them standing there. “It’s almost time for curfew,” Monkey said, a yawn punctuating his sentence as he pushed both tortoise and red panda towards another part of the barracks. “All of you should go to bed.”

Shifu eyed both of the masters warily. “What’s going on?”

“A civilian requested sanctuary,” Viper explained as she slithered past them. “He came a long way from here and needs rest, and I’m quite sure all of you need it as well.”

Ping peered into the room curiously. Mantis and Crane were tending to a goose much older than him. He was quickly grabbed by the simian master’s prehensile tail. “That means you too,” he chided.

“But why?” Oogway ventured.

“Why what?”

The tortoise looked at Monkey as if he noticed something off about him. “Why does he want s-- sanctuary?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Shifu cut in. When there was no response, he snapped. “The _army_!”

Crane and Mantis exited the room, clearly off put by the sudden shouting. “Will you be _quiet_?” the insect master said, eyeing the red panda warily. “You’re disturbing the patient.”

“How can all of you stay so _calm_ about this?!” The red panda bristled, teeth bared angrily to Oogway’s direction. “Even after someone comes in and asks for help from the army--”

The tortoise shrank back into his shell, scratching at the scales on his palm. “W-- we only learned about it right now--”

“But are you seriously that _dense_ that you had to ask why--”

“Shifu, that’s _enough_.” Tigress’ voice rang clear as the surrounding area grew into a lull. Everyone’s eyes were on her-- or at least her silhouette framed within the doorframe leading to the outside. She stepped inside, holding Po’s hat and staff much too tightly.

“This is no time to squabble like _children_ ,” she continued, before facing Oogway, who was still partially withdrawn. “The army is coming soon and you are the only one who can stop them.”

“ _What?_ ” the tortoise managed to splutter out, looking at her intently like Mei had always done to him in the hopes that he could find a chink in the master's armor-- something that proved that she was at least telling a rather ill-timed joke.

It didn’t work.

“B-- but-- the smoke-- only the Dragon Warrior can! And the grand master still… _is_! And--”

“Po can't do that!” she shot back angrily, thumping the staff on the ground for emphasis. For a moment, she looked back at it with a forlorn expression. “…Not anymore.”

Tigress stepped forward to Ping, kneeling down to his height before handing him the weathered straw hat.

Ping's hands clutched feebly at the rim of the hat, looking over the patched holes it had and how the scent of home-cooked food and peach blossoms lingered. His bill was agape, but for once the goose was speechless. The only thing that could escape his now-dry throat was a breathy exhale, which threatened to become a hiccuping sob.

“I'm sorry.” Tigress extended a hand to put onto the goose’s shoulder in an attempt to console him, but he backed away from the gesture. With unsteady feet he ran to another part of the barracks, clutching the hat for dear life.

As she stared blankly at the space Ping once occupied, she stood herself up. Everyone’s eyes were on her, their expressions of sorrow-mingled shock mirroring her own. “Our only hope is the Dragon Warrior.”

“The _turtle_?” Shifu’s ear twitched incredulously.

“Tortoise,” she corrected.

His hands balled up into fists. “Master, please-- choose someone more eligible for the title of Dragon Warrior. The foreigner can’t fight!”

“Shifu, that is _enough_ ,” Tigress shot back, her hackles raising.

“But you saw what happened earlier today--” 

“You need to understand that destiny has chosen _him_ ,” the feline roared out as she pointed to the tortoise with the staff… or at least where he _was_.

“Where did he go?”

* * *

In the shadows of the branches that loomed overhead, Oogway trudged far away from the established path. He’d get to the stairs quicker by going through the underbrush than by around it, he thought.

Tonight was quiet. Perhaps it was simply because of how secluded this place was from everything, but it felt as if the world was mourning the loss of the grand master. The somewhat blotted out moon and the stars lit his way, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh as he gazed up at them briefly. At least when he left, he thought, someone more worthy will get the title.

He was almost home free.

As he neared the steps, Tigress appeared out of nowhere to block his path. Her eyes practically glowed like living fire. “And where do you think you're going?”

The tortoise, while perturbed by her sudden appearance, kept a neutral face. “Back to the Valley.”

He passed her-- or at least, _tried_ to. Every attempt to try and make it to the stairs was met with the feline master redirecting him back with the staff. “What happened to all that talk earlier about spirit being unbreak-- ”

The tortoise had the gall to run while she was busy talking to him. And once more he was forced back, the force almost causing him to tip backwards on his shell.

“ _Unbreakable_ ,” she repeated.

Oogway couldn't help but let out a frustrated hiss, strangled and guttural as he balanced himself.

“You need to fulfill your destiny as the Dragon Warrior,” Tigress said, brandishing the staff as a pointing stick.

“Have you _lost_ your-- y--   _it_?!” he spat out, swatting the staff away from him. “I couldn’t beat any of _you_ earlier! I can’t stop an army!”

“You will beat them because you are the Dragon Warrior.”

“Stop _saying_ that!” he shot back. “None of you b-- believed that, _remember_? I’m just-- _just_ a _laowai_.”

Her claws started to dig into the surface of the staff, but she quickly relented in fear of breaking it. “Yes-- I _used_ to think that,” she began. “But now I need you to trust me as your master.”

“J-- just stop already,” he said exasperatedly. “Why are you bothering, anyway?”

Silence overtook the area as those words were uttered. “I could ask the same to _you_ ,” Tigress shot back finally. “Why bother staying if you knew?”

Oogway let out a scoff before mumbling under his breath, refusing to look the master in the eye. It took Tigress a moment to realize that he was speaking an entirely different language altogether. Whatever it was, the tone held a hint of iron.

“I had-- I had thought that t-- this would…” he managed to say, now speaking in Mandarin again, albeit halted.

“Would _what_?”

“To feel like I…” the tortoise mumbled under his breath, before looking away with a dismayed expression. The words couldn’t come up right. So he started again.

“Mei Yee told me stories about you, you know,” he started shakily. “About all of you.”

Oogway took a step closer, the mottled moonlight illuminating his face and his devastated expression. “And how people looked up to you and... wise all of you are. I thought you could _h-- help_ me understand… _things_ ,” he mumbled weakly, grimacing his poor word choice.

“Every day of my life, I just… _was_. J-- just living, nothing else. Sure, I did things, but it felt… empty,” he paused, looking at his clawed fingers-- had they been twitching this entire time? “I wanted…”

He paused. What _did_ he want out of this? He thought leaving home would help him expand his horizons, but all it really did was overwhelm him. Leaving the Valley to come up here yielded the same results.

“I _wanted_ to understand. I wanted to try. I wanted to be more than--”

He frantically thumped his hands to his chest, as if the intensity of the hits would prove his point. The sound rung hollow against his plastron.

In the moonlight, Tigress could see the other’s eyes wet with tears he refused to shed. The pain in them was something that was uncomfortably familiar to her. It was something that was festering in him for such a long time that everything was spilling out into this one moment. And dear _gods_ , its been welling up in him for so long.

“I want to be better,” Oogway finished lamely. “And I thought all of you could help me.”

There were a lot of things left unsaid. The hurt was like a complicated bunch of knots looping in the pit of the tortoise’s stomach and was simply left there. In these circumstances, it was the best that he could articulate it.

“S-- sorry. For wasting your time,” he said stiffly. “Let me go. _Please_.”

Tigress shook her head. “But I-- look, I can make you the Dragon Warrior. I _will_!” she blurted out.

“How?”

It was a simple question, but the master found herself tongue tied. The army was going to descend on the Valley at any point and ravage everything-- _everyone_ in their path between the Bridge and here.

“How?”

Tigress looked askance for a moment. Sure, she and the rest of them have made it through worse odds, but this was different. They were all much too old to fight an army. Po wasn’t here anymore.

The tortoise snapped. “ _How?!_ ”

“ _I don’t know!_ ” Tigress shot back almost immediately, baring her teeth before realizing the weight of what she just said. Her ears flattened against her head.

“I don’t know,” she repeated, much quieter.

Oogway sighed, his anger cooled down to quiet resignation. “ _Figures_.”

Silence rang out once more as the feline master passed by him, her form hunched as if a great weight had been added on her shoulders.

* * *

On the rooftop of the training hall, a small figure had heard the entire conversation. His intention was to think about what had happened the past few days, but instead he became privy to a conversation he shouldn’t have. But what was done was done, and he can’t take it back.

Shifu looked down to the two figures below. The feline master was almost out of sight, but was far from the path leading to the barracks. The tortoise, despite all of that, went back to the barracks at a slow pace.

His gaze traveled to the Valley below, to the farms that were somewhat secluded from the main hub of the town. The tortoise _did_ say that he lived down there. Him, the Valley Soothsayer, and _some other person_ \-- just as patchwork as the fields surrounding them.

Not like he could judge him for _that_.

The red panda stepped back from the edge of the roof, muscles tense and ready to run. But he was motionless, his entire body anticipating an action he would never do. Shifu sighed as his posture loosened, rubbing the space between his eyes.

He's been taught better than this. Even if every part of Shifu was screaming to do so, he won’t. He _can’t_. It would reflect poorly on himself, his masters, the Palace, and he was sure there would be consequences for such a thing.

As quiet as he went up the roof, he climbed down and walked back to the barracks.

He needed to check up on Ping.

* * *

In the dead of night, _some other person_ was looking over his knife. Or rather, Shen had been polishing it with trembling hands before placing it in a small satchel. This was no time for hesitation. That was his folly last time, and he refused to make the same mistake _twice_. 

Besides, he only had so many knives for this endeavor.

He exited the room, wincing at the quiet _creak_ of the door opening. A quiet murmur emanated from Mei’s room as it always had. Despite its annoying cadence, it was somewhat comforting-- if only because he had grown used to its presence. Shen flinched as he saw her hand reach out, but his anxiety was quickly mollified as he soon realized that the action was sleep-induced-- a reaction to one of her dreams. 

He sighed. _Mei will be fine_ , the back of his mind rationalized. She’d probably do even _better_ once he left. There would be even _less_ mouths to feed, and she’d stop getting strange looks in regards to who she was living with.

He was hesitating again. At this rate, the army will descend here at any moment. Shen placed a scrap of paper on the table while using a stump of a candle as a paperweight before scurrying away into the night. 

Moonlight glinted off his feathers giving him a ghostly appearance, but considering his destination it was fitting. Mei was going to kill him when she found out. But he’ll be far enough so it didn’t matter in the end.

Shen passed a signpost, a single marker pointed in the direction he was going in with the characters _Thousand Step Bridge_ signifying he was going in the right direction.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which hidden talents bloom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the second act! Somehow this fic has made it this far, which is surprising considering my history with these kinds of fics.
> 
> This entire sequence was hell to write since there were so many variants I had of it-- some following canon closer than others. I had chosen this variant because considering Oogway’s background, being discovered in the kitchen wouldn’t fit him.
> 
> The following chapters are going to be a little bit more focused (like this) hopefully, with less cutaways to other plots in the same chapter.
> 
> The summary is a pun on something mentioned in that scene, by the way.

Tigress couldn’t sleep.

For the rest of the night, she sat under the Sacred Peach Tree, its branches still bare. She stared ahead to the reddish dawn with a steely gaze, as if that would have given her an answer to her problems.

It didn’t.

Picking herself up with the peach tree staff in hand, she shuffled back to the barracks. There was a buzzing sense of aimlessness hovering around her like a heavy fog as she tried to recount what happened last night. Tried to _accept_ what happened last night.

At the sound of a piercing cry in the distance, the feline master was immediately snapped out of her reverie and automatically set herself into a defensive stance. The voice was something she recognized as the tortoise’s, if only by the slight unfamiliarity of it. When no threat came, her posture faltered.

The voice cried out again, and this time Tigress tried to track the source at a brisk pace. _Just what was going on?_

The first place Tigress checked was the training hall, but it yielded no results. The equipment was untouched, the area deathly silent-- she doubted anyone, least of all the tortoise, had been here.  In fact, she was sure she went _further_ away from the the source as a result.

But she could still hear the faint shouts.

It took a while, but eventually the feline master approached the gates to an abandoned garden, far from the established paths.

Tigress remembered this place. This was where they escaped to whenever the Winter Feast or any other official celebration was too much for them. While the Peach Tree was where they would meditate, _this_ was where they could all relax-- where they could forget their titles for just a quick moment.

But their duties called on them and Po so much, eventually they couldn’t afford that luxury.

The weeds were flourishing from a lack of maintenance-- in fact, the plants that were meant to be here were barely holding on. Pots were littered about, practically like headstones for the flowers that were once there. The shrubs were out of control, threatening to take half of the garden.

And at the center of this… gardener’s worst nightmare was the tortoise brandishing the shovel as if it were a two-handed spear, but something about the grip felt off. Impractical for such a thing.

“What are you even doing here?”

The tortoise let out a yell, nearly dropping the shovel he had been holding on his foot. Quickly recovering from his fumble, he pushed it behind a shrub with his foot. “Tending,” he managed to say, doubt creeping into his tone as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

Tigress looked around with a scrutinizing gaze. Strange marks and shallow holes lined the dirt around him that look like it was freshly dug.

“I mean-- this place is in really bad shape, alright?” Oogway retorted to an argument that wasn’t there.

The feline master paused, ears flattening out of contemplation as her gaze followed where his once was. Long abandoned hanging planters swung in the early morning breeze, but was otherwise devoid of life.

“Oh, no-- I understand.” The words came out somewhat awkward, but she picked herself up. “Just make sure to take care of the hanging planters-- I’m pretty sure the ropes are loose.”

Tigress turned around and walked off, managing to sneak a glance. The tortoise continued to look back to the roof with the same determined look he had when she arrived.

While it wasn’t in the master’s nature to eavesdrop, this was simply too strange for her to ignore. As soon as she was out of his line of sight, she hid behind one of the walls and waited for… _something_. The only indicator that anything was happening back there was the tortoise’s heavy footfalls… slowly going at a faster pace. Followed by the sound of the shovel scraping against something.

Finally, silence.

Tigress peered back into the garden.

The tortoise was balanced on top of the shovel-- or rather, half balanced as one foot was on the handle, and the other on the roof. Its blade was deeply embedded between two adjacent boulders, giving him extra leverage and needed height. It seemed like he was looking at something inside of it.

And that was when she realized he wasn’t holding the shovel like a spear-- he was holding it as a _pole vault_.

Oogway looked down at her, his mouth pursed in contemplation. “Who put these up here?” he asked.

For a moment, Tigress was caught off guard. “ _What_?”

“They’re... not very good with plants,” he added, tilting the planter’s opening in his hands to the master’s direction to show its contents. “This is the only thing that is alive up here.”

A single narcissus, against all odds, still bloomed at the center of its withered brethren. Even _its_ head was tilted down to look at her.

“Is _that_ what you’re prioritizing?” Tigress gave him an incredulous look.

“... _Yes_?”

The feline master shook her head, fervently gesturing in his direction. “No, I mean--” she fumbled around with her words for a moment. “Look at yourself! How did you get up there?”

Now it was Oogway’s turn to shoot an incredulous glance at her direction. “I was just…” he shrugged, putting the planter down to let it hang once again. “Wondering what was up here.”

“And yet you’re ten feet off the ground,” she explained. “Perfectly balanced, and that’s not mentioning the strength to embed the shovel for it to be stable footing.”

“This? No, it’s just an acci…” Once he became aware of what was happening-- what he was _doing_ \-- he began to lose said footing. The shovel he wedged in between the rocks was starting to falter as more weight was being pressed upon it, until the tortoise fell back into a shrub upside down.

Tigress approached him, giving him an amused glance at his flailing before extending a hand to him. “There are no accidents.”

As soon as Oogway righted himself, the master beckoned him to follow.

* * *

The masters’ words were starting to blend into each other… much to Oogway’s chagrin.

Tigress had gathered the rest of the Five behind closed doors in the barracks to discuss something. Discuss _him_ , the tortoise thought with a frown. The best he could do to gauge what was happening was look through the papery walls and try to interpret their shadows and tone.

Overall, the Five sounded surprised. Or at least _apprehensive_. On occasion the Masters would shoot a glance to where he was, silhouette no doubt completely easy to spot.

Shifu had arrived a while after the discussion had started-- had been _silent_ this entire time as he stood a few paces away. Ping had trailed behind him, now adorning a rice hat that dangled awkwardly on his back. The both of them looked like _they_ didn’t get any sleep either.

It seemed as if the masters were reaching a conclusion as the murmurs started to slow down enough to a comprehensible speed. One by one, they exited the room. 

“Are you sure about this?” Crane asked, feathered brows knitted in concern.

Tigress nodded, shrugging off a pack that had been over her shoulder before handing it off to the tortoise. “I’ve seen what he can do,” she said. 

Viper shook her head. “I think what he means to say, are you sure about leaving?”

Again, the feline master nodded. “All of you know the routes for an emergency evacuation--”

“Because _you_ drilled it into our heads for decades,” Monkey interjected in an attempt to alleviate the mood. Soft chuckles escaped from the masters.

“ _Exactly_.” Tigress took a small satchel from a servant goose’s outstretched hands, before turning to the red panda in the corner.

“Shifu.”

The named master looked up to her with pinprick pupils. His ears flattened against his skull as he waited for a possible lecture. Ping was caught between wanting to support him and stepping aside before a possible clash occurred.

“Go to the Musician’s Village.”

As Shifu’s ears perked up in confusion, the feline master continued. “There is only one clear path that goes straight from the Bridge to here, and they’re right in the middle of it,” she explained. “And out of all of us, you can get there the fastest. Evacuate them all before the army arrives.”

Shifu spluttered out a response-- at least tried to, before settling on silently bowing to her. His posture was stiff, as if he was forcing himself with the action. Ping was looking to the masters, to Shifu, to _him_ for help-- for a possible rebuttal.

Oogway couldn’t help but look askance, disguising it with an attempt to steady his new cargo on his carapace.

“We should go before the noon heat catches us,” Tigress said, her calm tone barely hiding her wavering voice. She looked back at the red panda, a stern look clouded by _something_ else. “That… goes for you too.”

* * *

The noon heat didn’t really bother Oogway as much. In fact, to him it was on the balmy side of things. What _did_ bother him was the fact that he was carrying most of the supplies. While this wasn’t the first time he had to carry something this cumbersome, it was an uncomfortable weight on his carapace regardless.

“Where are we going?” he asked, the words barely registering to him as actual words as a result of constant repetition.

The master wasn’t even bothering to answer anymore. The tortoise couldn’t help but let out an annoyed huff as he looked back to his feet. He could barely see the Valley below, as thick clouds enveloped them. Even some of the mountain peaks, high as they seemed, weren’t safe from engulfment.

It looked like seafoam if he squinted hard enough.

The tortoise’s reverie was interrupted by a loud cough. Tigress gave him a flat look. “Are you _done_ sightseeing?”

He nodded quickly before trailing behind the feline master once again.

The further they ascended, the more fog had appeared. By the time they started to slow down, the clearing they were at was enveloped with the stuff. So much so that the tortoise couldn’t really tell what was up ahead. Grass prickled at Oogway’s feet-- that much he can figure out as he tried to make his way around the area. Step, step, step, _splash_.

His foot had landed in what seemed to be a pond, leaving it partially submerged. Looking back at the now-sitting master, not quite sure of what was _supposed_ to happen-- if anything. The tortoise set the pack aside before dipping his head down into the water to take a sip. If she was taking a break, he might as well do the same.

“ _Laowai_.”

The tortoise’s head was still partially submerged, however the sudden stiffness in his posture suggested that he had heard her.

“At the rate you’re drinking the Sacred Pool of Tears, we’ll have to rename it into the _Puddle_ of Sacred Tears.”

He brought himself back up quickly, leaping out of the water before looking back at her with confusion and a quiet fear.

Tigress approached him. “Do you know of this place?” 

There were so many things he wanted to say-- that he _did_ , in fact know this place. That Mei told him stories about how kung fu was born here. How that this was the training grounds for the last Dragon Warrior. But all he could muster was a nod.

The fog began to lift, revealing the rest of the Wu Dan mountains. Its forest-speckled peaks stretched past the horizon, practically untouched by any kind of being. And beyond that was where Shifu was meant to go to. Where the army was. And beyond that was the _ocean_ \--

A nostalgic pang rang in his plastron as he looked on in wonder.

Oogway was knocked out of his reverie at the next words the master spoke. “Do you want to learn kung fu?”

“Y-- yes,” he paused, realizing how hesitant he sounded. But despite that, his gaze still held the determination it had during their training spar. 

And that was more than enough for Tigress. She sighed softly. “We’ll work on it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The narcissus represents hidden talents in Chinese culture. There are no accidents, and that was no accident either!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the true training begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, then, I’ve been sitting on this chapter for months for several reasons.
> 
> First, school happened. The more complicated, second reason was the fact that I had no idea how to write what was essentially a three minute montage and make it interesting, so I made it more character-orientated where the interactions between Tigress and Oogway were explored (in a way that doesn’t have the latter fearing for his life constantly).

Up in the Wu Dan mountains, past the Pool of Sacred Tears and the remaining bits of fog that lingered, was a field that looked like it went on endlessly. Rocks jutted out from the ground, breaking the monotony of grass. Some looked as if they were twisting itself as it went up, up, _up_. Others were filled with holes, almost as if something burrowed through it. Despite that, none of them were in the risk of collapsing.

The wind blew all around-- past them, through the grass that bristled at his legs, through the holes in the rocks. The massive stones began to wail at varying tones, and he couldn’t help but let his eyes go wide. This was _definitely_ worth having his legs giving out from under him.

Part of him wondered what would happen if he stuck a hand in one of the smaller holes. Or whether in theory he could play a melody on a blustery day, as if they were wonky flutes.

In the middle of his speculation of what _would_ , in fact happen, he was brought back to reality by walking into Tigress’ outstretched arm. The tortoise had immediately stumbled back in alarm, but the feline master’s stoic expression was not stirred. Her hands were clasped behind her back, holding onto the satchel from earlier.

“When you focus on kung fu,” Tigress started, turning around to face him. “You are… terrible. _Absolutely_ terrible.”

The tortoise gave her a flat glare at the bold-faced admonishment, but Tigress continued. “ _However_ , that was my fault.” Her shoulders had lowered as she let out a long-drawn breath. “I can’t train you how the rest of us trained.”

Oogway shuddered at the so-called ‘training’ he had been subjected to just yesterday. He was quite sure that left some scuff marks on his carapace. _And on several walls._ “Then… what do we do?” he ventured, still puzzled.

Tigress didn’t answer. Instead, she finally revealed what was in that satchel. The flower from earlier, albeit in a smaller pot, rested on the palm of her hand.

“During your training, you must take care of it.” The master handed it off to him, grip too careless to be accidental. He clutched at the ridges of the pot, giving her an apprehensive look before looking back to what was in his hands.

“But… what does this have to do with anything?”

The edges of the feline master’s mouth curled up and said nothing more. Oogway wasn’t sure whether he should have been suspicious or afraid.

Turns out, the flower had _everything_ to do with training.  At least, according to Tigress.

* * *

For what seemed to be forever, Oogway had been mimicking the master’s form, with a leg looking as if it were prepared to strike and arms raised. The flowerpot balanced precariously on the back of his hand.

The tortoise couldn’t help but look askance. Even if he _had_ agreed to this, all of it felt strange.  “How long do I have to be like this?”

He’d begun the-- well, Tigress called them _taolu_ , but he just called them stretches with fancy names. In his mind, at least. At this rate, _both_ his arms and legs were going to give out. It was only a matter of which one would do so first, and it seemed that the former was winning out.

The feline master, despite her age, was faring _much_ better than him. With a smooth motion, she raised her leg upward, a silent answer to his question. Oogway had went on to attempt the next form, but the transition was shaky and abrupt. The pot teetered awkwardly before it actually began falling down oh _no--_

He had broken out of the form in an awkward stumble, arms trying to snap up the flower pot before it hit the ground. With a loud _thud_ , he had collapsed face first, the flower somewhat shaken but safe.

Tigress had stopped the exercise, looking at him with furrowed brows. “Are you--”

“I-- I’m sorry!” The response was automatic and quickly uttered. “S’just that I can’t really bend that good-- because of my shell, and…”

“I was going to ask if you were _alright_ ,” she clarified.

The feline master held up a palm to tell him to stop, but Oogway flinched at the sight. His eyes were wide and fearful and _expectant_. Expecting her to do _something else_. He was tense and hunched over, ready for anything like what he’s been subjected to as training for the past few days.

Tigress put her hand back to her side stiffly. “It’s fine,” she said, her voice low. “As long as you can get the gist of the movement and keep it smooth and steady, you’ll be fine. Do you under--”

He nodded quickly, one hand scrambling to grab the edge of the flower pot. The other brushed its clawed fingers against his neck. The motions, like the words before, were automatic.

“-- stand…”

The feline master looked over him, judgement flickering more and more to concern. “…Are you just agreeing because you’re afraid?” she ventured.

Oogway suddenly found great interest in the ground, palming his neck and off-color scales-- a reminder of what she had done merely _yesterday_. There was an apprehension in his next words. “You’re not wrong.”

Tigress opened her mouth, only for no words to come out. Another attempt. “Admittedly, my actions before were… uncalled for.” She kneeled down, putting her hands on her lap thoughtfully. “So an apology is due. I’m sorry.”

“I’d be mad, too,” he mumbled quickly. The tortoise’s gaze moved to her hands, unwavering and with the same petrified look in his eyes. “It’s fine.”

“We won’t be able to accomplish much if this continues,” the feline master said before cutting herself short with a frustrated sigh-- one aimed more at herself than the tortoise.

Oogway put his hand back down to steady himself. Taking in a deep breath, he willed himself to look back up at the master. He had stopped halfway once he recognized the look on her face.

The master was terrified. Perhaps just as much as he was, if not more-- or maybe that was… something else.

Tigress’ ears flattened as she started again. “I have vowed to train you, but I need _your_ input as well,” she offered. “All of this is new territory for the both of us.”

Something about knowing that the both of them were clueless made the tortoise want to just stay in his shell until the entire crisis blew over. At the same time, it was somewhat... relieving-- it was _something_ the both of them can relate to. Something that made sense in the world he had been thrust into.

“New t-- territory,” he echoed stiffly.

An old memory resurfaced. Familiar faces, similar to his, that refused to listen to reason. A stubbornness that tempered to an intense desire.

 _Fear_. And the perseverance to press on.

“New territory... to be explored, huh.” Oogway sat himself up, letting out a shaky breath. He had plenty of experience with this sort of thing already-- tested boundaries, _surpassed_ them. He’d already come this far.

Perhaps his drive had been petered out over the years, but it was still there. And that counted for something, didn’t it?

With an affirmative hiss, he stood up with flower pot in hand. “I’m ready to try again,” he managed to muster up. There was a moment of silence as he remembered what prompted this entire exchange in the first place. “But-- er… leg movements aren’t exactly my…” The tortoise balanced on one foot for a moment to do a test kick, only to nearly lose his balance again. The raised leg pushed against his plastron awkwardly. “... _strength_.”

“We’ll have to compensate for the difference, but it’s doable,” she said with furrowed brows. “Let me see you do the forms up to that point, and we’ll see what has to be changed.”

The tortoise brought himself back to the starting position, clutching to the flower with both hands as silent affirmation.

“Until you manage to do all of it, we’re not taking a break.”

While it was unexplored territory, at least this time around there was someone who was on the same boat as him.

* * *

By the time Oogway finished, the sun had long ago dipped past the horizon.

His limbs felt as if they had been grinded into paste. He could barely do much of anything, really. But Tigress insisted him that it was always like that the first time around. She had  _ also _ insisted that he should set the fire. 

With shaky hands, he bashed two rocks together until a spark had landed onto the kindling, newly formed embers burning what was in their path.

Mei may have taught him the language, and acupuncture, and… everything else, really, but Shen taught him how to start a fire. And by  _ taught _ , the tortoise meant ‘observed Shen do the action several times’. At a safe distance. And near Mei.

Had the goat not have been there at all those times… well, he’d rather not think about it now.

Once the fire bloomed to a sufficient size, Oogway stepped back with arms outstretched to the direction of the flame, flowerpot by his side. Tigress had settled down across from him, and he couldn’t help but be disconcerted by the quiet sound of a joint popping.

Dinner was a silent affair. It was a simple soup with chunks of unidentifiable vegetables floating in the broth. It did its job in regards to filling him up, but was lacking in the taste department. Not like the soup from a few nights ago. 

Funny how he can be nostalgic for something he had only tasted once. Or be nostalgic for a time that was simply a few days ago.

“What’s with that face?”

The tortoise’s gaze moved from the ground to Tigress’ stern expression, highlighted by the firelight in a rather intimidating manner. “What face?” he ventured.

“You looked like you were deep in thought, is all.” 

Oogway brought the bowl to his face as if he were getting to drink the broth, conveniently hiding the other’s gaze.

“You remember what I’ve said while doing  _ taolu _ ?” she offered. “That isn’t exclusive to training, you know.”

He set the now half-empty back down, beside the narcissus, who had bobbed at the sudden motion. “Why did you change your mind?”

“What?”

“You mentioned a vow,” he explained. “Is that why?”

It was the master’s turn to avert her gaze. 

The tortoise said nothing for a moment, instead opting to pour out some water for the narcissus. “Did the grand master force you to do this?” The question didn’t hold the sting of doubt, or at least as much as he expected.

“No.” Tigress’ tone was firm, but had softened as she let out a melancholic chuckle. “I mean, he spoke to me about it… but I don’t think he could give us a direct order, even if he was the emperor.”

He couldn't help but laugh along too, only for it to peter off. “He sounded like a good person.” Then, in a whisper. “It’s not  _ fair _ .”

The fact that someone as important and powerful as the grand master died right before the invasion felt like a cold slap to the face. It was a grim reminder of how unfortunate the world could be. He couldn’t help but fidget with his clawed fingers.

A pause. “I know.” The master went over to her sleeping area, but made no effort of lie down. “However, death-- like all change-- may be the end of one thing, but the birth of many others.”

Tigress wasn’t sure whether she was trying to convince the tortoise or herself.

“You should get some rest,” she added, looking out to the wilderness with her back turned to the flame. “You’ll need it for the days ahead.”

“What about you?”

Her tail twitched. “I need time to think.”

For the longest time Oogway stared at the back of her head, as if he would suddenly read the master’s mind, to no avail. With a quiet ‘hm’, he lied on the ground with head fully withdrawn and hands loosely circled around the flowerpot.  _ Perhaps _ ... perhaps he should do that too. In the morning. When he was less tired.

Slowly, surely, his eyelids fell.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the past catches up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School's finally out, meaning that I have time to write.
> 
> Alright, we're going to detour a bit before the training montage 'finishes'. I needed to address a plot point I brought up in the first act.
> 
> As of what I'm planning right now, Parts 10 - 13 are events that are happening really close to each other. After this, a lot of the events (save for some) are going to be a departure from the source material and while it's a little overwhelming to think about, I hope it'll be as interesting for you as it is for me!

Mei looked out the window and smoothed her fur out with one hand. The other hand was busy clutching at a now-crumpled note written in Shen’s hand-- still impeccably tidy looking despite the smudges she made from holding it for so long.

_I’m going to the Bridge._

The first wave of evacuations rumbled in slowly through the countryside. Those who didn’t turn tail and run after the Valley-wide reading were scrambling their belongings and their family together. The Masters, along with some volunteers, ushered the rest onto a clear path-- one that was headed to Jiayin, sister city to the Valley and home to Li Dai Academy.

_Just leave without me._

It was hard to avoid from the hustle and bustle of panicking people-- they were just _everywhere_. It was even worse when some stopped to stare, like she brought this upon them just by saying it. The goat yanked the curtain close as a kit locked eyes with her.

She had enough of wallowing in self-pity to last her a lifetime, now was the time for another attempt.

Mei slammed the door open, looking out towards the untended fields and to the wilting garden beside her-- a silent reminder that she needed to get _two_ people back. With a sigh on her lips, she walked towards the direction of the crowds, ignoring the people and their gazes.

All of them might as well have been dark shapes at the edges of her vision.

The first to notice her was Master Viper, who had a parasol in tail and was brandishing it like a pointing stick. “Valley Soothsayer? What are _you_ doing here?”

“I live here.”

The serpent looked around the farmlands in quiet incredulity. Before she could get a word in Mei interjected coolly, “Yes, I know-- ‘what’s a soothsayer doing living out in the outskirts of the Valley?’-- I’ve heard it all before, but that’s not why I’m out here.”

She looked around the passing crowd urgently.

“Where’s Oogway? Is he helping people evacuate? I really need to talk to him.”

“He’s training--”

“Then _bring_ him here!”

“…Up at the Wu Dan mountains.”

“Of course he is!” The goat’s usual tone of nonchalance was waning, giving in to tiredness. “…Of _course_ he is.”

Viper twirled the parasol in uncertainty. “Are you alright?”

While Mei was nodding, the way her shoulders sagged suggested otherwise. “Sorry-- it’s just--” she clutched the side of her head. “Someone... _important_ \-- he-- Shen, he-- he ran away.”

“What?”

“To the Thousand Step Bridge.”

“That’s where the army was last spotted!”

The goat nodded hurriedly. “I’m _aware_ , just please-- I-- I need help.”

“We have one of our students going there right now-- their paths could meet,” the master said, an attempt to assuage the other’s doubt.

Mei stayed silent for a moment, instead opting to clasp her hands together out of uncertainty.

“Pardon my apprehension, but it’s been a long…” Mei trailed off. “Well, it’s a difficult time.”

The serpent frowned as the coils that held her parasol in place tightened its grip. She tilted her head, clearly confused by the other’s reaction. The Valley Soothsayer was known for many things, but _tepidity_ was not one of them.

A voice rang out from above. “ _Viper_!”

The named master looked up for a moment to see the silhouette of Crane soaring above everyone. “Well, I suppose I should get going now.” She began to turn back towards the rest of the villagers. “Valley Soothsayer, please don’t worry-- if Shifu doesn’t find him, then he’ll be caught up in the flow of evacuation on the way there and go to a safe town.”

And with that, Viper slithered off into the crowds with parasol in coil, leaving Mei alone with her thoughts.

“That’s what I’m _afraid_ of.”

* * *

Another day, another attempt-- or rather, anxiously waiting for him to come back. The rural areas was slowly getting cleared out in waves, and she can only wait for so long until the masters caught wind of it, or something worse--

As Mei trudged back to her home, the houses were eerily quiet. The sun had begun to set, casting long shadows over crops now waterlogged from lack of maintenance. During this time, there should be farmers ending their daily chores. There should be people making their way from the main hub of town, tired from the sun beating down on them as they sold their wares.

She looked over to her home, slowly coming into view. At this point, Oogway would tend to the small garden in front. Shen would be complaining about the lack of food so loudly, she’d hear it from there.

A loud clatter rang out from nearby. Mei’s fur bristled. The rabbit family that lived there… they just left yesterday.

Mei snuck over to the house, peering into the window with a morbid curiosity.

A dark shape loomed in the far end of the house, loomed in shadows. It was making a mess of the kitchen, throwing the bowls every which way and snapping up whatever food he could find in its jaws. Sharp teeth glinted in the fading light, as did its claws.

Mei stepped back abruptly, causing her to trip over the small garden plot in front of the house. In the moment of impact, there was silence. She brought herself up quickly to run off to a safe place.

She stopped short of the main hub of the town before a dark shape darted forward to block her path.

 _The wolf in the crowds_.

“It’s you,” he rasped out.

Mei stepped back, looking towards the nearby houses in the hopes that there was someone there. Someone that, at the very least could be an eyewitness and assuade him.

The wolf’s hunched form clearly expressed disappointment, as well as hunger considering their emancipated state. Wide eyes flashed with hunger, then to recognition, and finally furrowed down to anger. “If you know what’s best for you, keep quiet,” he murmured.

Mei stood her ground, but everything was telling her to leave and get far, _far_ away. This wasn’t happening-- this shouldn’t _be_ happening--

His smile became sharp and jagged, emphasized by the snap of his jaws a moment later. “Or would you like to suffer the same fate as your traitorous parents?”

Her fur bristled. Her hands trembled. The sound echoed in her ears.

 _Snap_.

This was all so achingly familiar. Her fortune, this outcome.

She remembered something-- something she had pushed back for all these years. Loud, angry caws akin to the screeching of metal. Comforting words. Hoofed hands on her cheek before they were torn away. The howling and snapping.

Amidst all that, a feathered hand grabbed her by the shoulder to snap her out of it. There was a voice screaming at her to hurry up and run far, _far_ away from the tower, past the courtyard, far beyond the city she knew all her life.

_Snap._

“W-- why are you doing this?” Mei’s voice did not sound like her own. Her mind was reeling, as if this entire thing was a vision. But it was the exact opposite.

The past was crashing down on her this time, and she was ill-equipped for it.

“For the glory of Gongmen.”

_Snap._

Her stomach lurched at those words. She had no one to help her now-- not Shen, not her parents, not anyone. She could practically hear the sounds of drums over and over again, beating hard against her ears and making it difficult to think.

She had nothing but her words now. Same as it had always been.

“No, that’s what the lord and lady told you to do.” Mei fumbled with her sleeves, her shaking quelled somewhat. Her words were terse, bravado wavering into uncertainty.

No answers came. A growl rumbled in the other’s throat. His steps faltered for a moment as he swayed.

 _Exhaustion_ , Mei managed to extrapolate. “…Has the situation gotten so bad back there that _this_ is justified? Why--”

Before she could even react, she was suddenly lifted up by the collar and was slammed against the nearest wall. Letting out a wheeze out of pain and sudden disorientation, she stared at the wolf wide-eyed.

A caw rang in the distance.

“I know what you did all those years ago.” The wolf’s ears pinned down in anger. “Your little ‘fortune’ sent them into madness--!”

“Can’t send anyone anywhere if they were already there in the first place,” she snapped back. “They’ve always been like that-- stuck in the past, paranoid--”

He snarled. “Don’t you dare speak of--”

Mei struggled to free herself from his grasp, eyeing at his form and how rail-thin he was. “Look at yourself-- they claim to care for their subjects, yet leave all of you like _this_?!”

The wolf’s brows furrowed, almost as if considering her words as his grip loosened.

Mei swung her head back before headbutting him in the snout. As the wolf reeled back with a whine, she ran past him and to the main hub of the town. It just as quiet and empty as the rural area. Looking up to the peak where the Jade Palace resided, she sprinted her way past the empty houses and stalls towards the steps.

 _The masters, or at the very least_ servants _should be tending to it now--_

The world was shifting around her at a dizzying pace, but she can’t stop-- not _now_.

She barely managed to clamber up the first three steps before she felt clawed hands grab her leg. As she lost her footing, she fell straight onto the stairs. Mei let out a yell, clutching her side while trying to pull away from his grip.

“You’re going to wish you hadn’t done that!”

The goat let out a noise between a bleat and a yell as she tried to kick him off with her free leg, eyes shut tight in both pain and fear that gripped her. Each hit was blocked off by his armor-clad free arm. The next kick was off-beat, taking a moment too long to reel back.

He took the opportunity to pull a warhammer from the strap on his back. Long and thin, the head glinted in the dying sunlight before it came down in her direction.

And never connected.

A scaled coil had managed to pull the hammer back and managed to bring the struggle to a standstill-- at least for a moment. Master Viper pulled against the other’s grip, the hammer waving about somewhat as the both of them struggle to take control.

And suddenly she was pushed-- _pulled_?-- and everything blurred.

There was a wingbeat, the sounds of metal clattering far away, and old weathered hands trying to shake her into a semblance of lucidity. Mei struggled to sit up for a moment, but even that was too much-- before she knew it, the rest of the world melded into black.

The last thing she saw before blacking out was the wolf retreating from the masters, running to the mountains.

* * *

Mei woke up with a start. From the amount of light that was in her room, the most she could assume was that at least a day passed. Her hands gripped an unfamiliar blanket with floral patterns. A dull panic settled into her as she took in her surroundings. She was surrounded by unfamiliar ricepaper walls making up the perimeter of the sparsely decorated room. Save for the dresser by her feet and the unlit candle that was perched on top of it, there wasn’t much to look at.

Mei propped herself up on the headboard, and pain flared across her stomach. She instinctively clutched it, letting in a sharp intake of air as she did so.

“Miss Soothsayer, you gotta be careful!”

She looked around, her eyes falling on the now-open door. A goose with a ricehat dangling behind his back awkwardly had waddled in with some soup in a platter.

“Where is-- where am I?”

He jumped back, confused eyes meeting her wild and frightened ones. “You’re in the Jade Palace,” he explained as he offered the tray. “The rest of the masters brought you up here since-- uh, all the doctors _kind_ of all evacuated. They’re still _super_ busy, though, so that’s why they’re not here.”

Hesitantly, she took it from him, eyeing the soup with a tired gaze. As recognition dawned on Mei, she looked over the goose and squinted-- _what was the grandmaster’s son still_ doing _here?_

“ _...What_?”

“Shouldn’t you be in Jiayin by now?” she pointed out. “I thought you’d be the _first_ one out.”

Ping bristled. “I could say the same to you.”

Mei sighed. _He’s got her_ there, she thought as she took in a quick sip of the soup. She wasn’t sure what had happened up here in the past few days, but the lack of any mention of the grandmaster was alarming to say the least.

His feathered brows knitted in deep thought. “So, why are you still here?” he ventured. “Are you worried about Oogway?”

Her movements faltered for a moment, hesitance creeping onto her features before realizing that the tortoise probably told them some things about himself and his homestead. “I’m worried about a _lot_ of things,” she muttered. “And a lot of people. _Including_ him.”

“Ah.”

“I just need to know for sure if they’re going to be alright.” Mei took in a deep breath, the smell of homemade soup filling her up and giving her a quiet sort of comfort. “I need to see with my _own eyes_ that they’re going to be alright.”

The goose’s feathered fingers started to fiddle with the ties of the old ricehat anxiously. There was a moment of silence, one part awkward and another part mutual understanding. Mei should have realized sooner that he stayed for the same reason she did-- worry, and a desire to not leave such a safe homestead.

Mei took the opportunity to eat the rest of the soup in silence. She wasn’t sure what kind of soup it was, the only discernable things she could identify in the broth was some noodles and radishes, but the spices knocked her into a more lucid state. Made everything feel a bit more _real_.

In the corner of her eye, she saw Ping nodding stiffly a few times, unsure of how to continue the conversation. “If it makes you feel better, he’s with Tigress. He’s completely safe up in Wu Dan!”

Mei eased back into the headboard with a sigh, into a semblance of calm… up until yet another realization dawned on her. She jerked upwards with a start and almost knocked over the platter and its contents. “No he isn’t!--”

“ _What_?” The goose pulled the platter and the soup from her lap and set it near the dresser, perplexed by the sudden outburst.

Mei winced at the sudden bout of pain as she clutched her side yet again. “The wolf-- the wolf is going _up to Wu Dan_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I've practically played my 'spoiler' card of Mei's (and by extension, Shen's) identity. Does that mean I'll stop being cagey about it? Probably not until I reach the final act, but again, it's kind of obvious knowing who the source characters are and the whole mechanics of this AU.
> 
> Also, yes-- the wolf _is_ the generationswap AU variant of Wolf Boss. Like his canon counterpart, he is bad at following directions implied or otherwise.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which training is interrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned how much trouble I have with writing fight scenes? Because I do, and only care for the stuff right before or after a fight, rather than the actual fight-- at least in a literary format.

The wolf bounded past the furthest reaches of the town into untouched wilderness, ignoring the pulses of pain that was coursing through his face. Looking up, he couldn't help but wince at the height of the Wu Dan mountains. It was going to take _days_ to track them down, and that's saying nothing on how long he could even last.

He clutched his stomach for a moment. A pathetic growl escaped from it, too tired to even make a sound. With a grimace, he begun to climb up the sheer rock face, thoughts focused on everything-- _anything_ else except for how heavy the warhammer on his back were, how the weight of it all was making his already twitching hands to slip off the rock face he was holding onto.

In the end, this was all going to be worth it. Considering how plentiful the Valley was, it wouldn’t take long for Gongmen to be restored, and from there the pack can reap the prosperity.

At least, what was left of them.

He shook his head, rousing him from his thoughts-- he needed to _focus_ for this.

* * *

 

Oogway had to admit begrudgingly that near isolation had its perks. Once your mind grew used to the big details, you start to focus on smaller details that you missed with your first look around. That sort of thing was pretty useful when fighting the same person each day. At least in theory.

It was extremely difficult to parse meaning in her occasional ear wiggle or tail twitch.

Oogway took a step back, head partially withdrawn as Tigress had begun to come forward with a barrage of punches. He brought his free arm up, each potential strike met with a countering fist that diverted each hit. He switched every so often, letting the flowerpot slide down the back of his arm, behind his carapace, then to the other side.

“Remember to keep focus.”

The master's mouth tilted downward as she slowed down her barrage deliberately. The tortoise stepped back as well. His eyes darted to her in hesitation before quickly flickering to realization as he charged forward to jab… only for Tigress to duck under it.

One sweep kick later and he was stumbling out an open-palm strike.

Tigress stepped behind him in a quick stride, lightly kicking his carapace to add insult to injury. “You’re starting to get predictable.”

He fell flat on his face, the potted plant a hair’s breadth from touching the ground. Pulling his head back up, he swerved around to meet Tigress’ unreadable gaze.

Oogway set the flowerpot down, ducking his head in as he lunged forward-- he was desperate to at least get at least _one_ hit on her. It was far from an ‘official’ kung fu move, but at least it made the master’s eyes go wide.

That is, until she stepped to the side.

He stumbled forward, spinning around to find purchase on anything. His hand darted forward to grab onto the nearest tree branch in an attempt to gain some purchase… only for it to snap under the pressure

Oogway fell back, rolling down the steep hill sideways and _gods_ did he feel like vomiting. Stretching his arms forward, he dug his claws into the dirt. Rolling turned to a slow tumble before he halted just shy of a bush.

Several Tigresses approached him with flowerpots in all their collective hands, eyeing the grooves made in the dirt before it rested on him. “Better.”

“I… honestly can’t tell if you’re _serious,_ ” he replied to the Tigress slightly to the left, limbs too shaky to try and pick himself up. “I still can’t knock you down.”

“No, you haven’t. On top of that, you need to learn to take initiative and stop hesitating-- even if it _is_ training.” The masters held up a clawed finger in the air, silently cutting the tortoise’s retort short. “ _However_ , you seem to have mastered the art of recovery rather nicely.”

Tigress was finally coalescing into one person as she handed off the flowerpot briskly and strode past him. She parted a bush, revealing a cliff’s edge that was just up ahead. With a small yelp, he stepped away... only to cautiously approach it once more to peer over the edge. Below them, there was the faraway green of the ground below.

It was a rather sobering reminder on how high up the both of them were. How far away the rest of the Valley they were, and from the oncoming threat.

“And it’s a good thing too,” she added as she walked back up the slope. “Know this-- sometimes a fight you can walk away from is more important than the actual outcome.”

Oogway looked back down, the newly-formed wisps of cloud and fog making it difficult to see the ground. He couldn’t help but put a hand to his neck, as if that would abate the motion sickness. “B-- but... what if the outcome was _really_ important?”

It was clear from the silence that the conversation was over. But he refused.

“Like the invasion," he insisted.

She didn't say a word. Her tail twitched erratically, only for it to quickly quell its movement.

"Isn't the risk worth it?" He took a step closer.

The master continued to make her way up, her steps heavy.

"What about all that talk about--" Oogway couldn't help but hiss in frustration as he tried to keep pace with her. "About talking and new territory?”

A beat. He held his breath, feeling that perhaps he overstepped, _oh gods he overstepped_ \--

Tigress' shoulders heaved. "Look, this place... is my home, and I will do everything in my power to protect everything and everyone in it," she said finally. "And Dragon Warrior or not, you still fall under that category."

She finally looked him in the eye. Those same uncertain eyes were back. “I want you to think long and hard about why you want to get into this, and _really_ think about it.”

And before Oogway could retort, say _anything_ , she had made it to the peak of the hill and walked beyond the tortoise's sight. He looked back to the narcissus in his hands, and its petals bobbed in the wind. With a quiet sigh, he trailed after her.

Further away, a dark ear twitched.

* * *

 

For the longest while, Tigress had stared at today's bowl of rations with a contemplative stare.

The tortoise furrowed his brows, stopping mid-chew out of hesitation. He thought back to what he dubbed the Incident yesterday. It didn’t take long for his thoughts to drift back to what he said the night before all this happened.

 _Every day of my life, I just…_ was _._

Was it selfish that he wanted a direction in life? Was it so bad that he wanted something bigger than himself?

_Just living, nothing else. Sure, I did things, but it felt empty._

Then again, he literally stumbled into this role, like _everything else_ that’s ever happened to him so far. He was just an outsider, even after years of living here _everything gets jumbled up and was just so confusing_ \--

Oogway shut his eyes and stood up with a start. Without thinking, he put the flowerpot on top of the slop. "I need to clear my head for a bit." A pause. "And-- _and_ maybe also do a bit of training myself?"

The master nodded, still preoccupied with staring in the bowl. He was quite sure it was one of vague acknowledgement and not one of agreement but he still took the chance to be away from the stilted atmosphere.

As he made his way out of the canopy, he was met with the wild open expanse of tall, dark grass that contrasted against the purplish-red skies of sunrise. Breathing in the mountain air, he bounded into the field. As much as training was interesting, it didn't really give him much time to observe the world around him in greater detail.

In the distance, the area that he dubbed the Windy Rocks played its off-tune notes. He hadn’t seen all of Wu Dan yet, but that was probably one of the most interesting areas up here. It didn’t feel real.

 _This whole_ training _thing didn’t feel real._

Oogway extracted the potted narcissus and placed it on top of a table sized rock nearby. With a quiet sigh, he continued his meal in silence. _Should probably get this straightened out with Tigress later_ , he mused with a pursed beak.

And for a while, that was enough. And that was all. Until he heard the sound of rustling.

"...Master Tigress?"

No answer. _Strange._

"Is this a stealth… training exercise?" he offered, putting down the bowl on the rock and getting into a defensive stance.

The field of wild grass in front of him swayed in the wind. The patch just behind him, however, had a dark, clawed hand dart out towards the bowl of indistinct food. He turned around, letting out a surprised yell as he kicked it back. The owner of the hand, a thing with sharp teeth and a strange sore near its eye reeled back with a whine.

 _Alright, that's_ definitely _not Tigress._

Oogway held a defending arm forward. An attempt to slash at anything was met with a hand striking his wrist. Another one, another block. But something irked him.

The wolf snarled furiously at the counters, but the tortoise couldn't help but think how… familiar this person was.

Finally, something clicked. Or rather hit, with its dark and fuzzy fist to the face. As Oogway nursed the side of his face, he squinted. “...Pointy?”

His ears perked up before pinning back. “ _What_?” he said incredulously.

“Pointy fuzz guy!”

The other’s brows furrowed in confusion, and he faltered in his onslaught of attacks. “I’m a wolf,” he said flatly.

“No, I mean--” He let out a little noise of frustration. “You were the creepy guy at the Dragon Boat Festival!”

His mouth did the facial equivalent of tripping and trying to recover. “ _Really_? That’s it?” He pointed an accusatory finger towards him. “Do you really know nothing?!"

Oogway could only stare at him in begrudging befuddlement before shrugging. He wasn’t exactly a mind reader.

The wolf pulled a hand down his face in frustration. "Let me put this in terms an _idiot_ like you can understand--"

" _Hey!_ "

"I'm going to bring your ridiculous shell as a trophy to the lord and lady of Gongmen."

Oogway thought back to the tortoise back at the training hall and shuddered at the thought of being like that. "Ah. Good to know.” He took a step back.  “Lemme jus’…" And another, which was followed by a spitting hiss. He bounded back to the direction of the grove of trees-- where the camp was, and where Tigress should still be.

Before he could process the feeling of a weight on his carapace, he was suddenly on the ground. The narcissus had flown off into the grass during the scuffle. Perhaps it wasn't the best thing to focus on at the moment, but he really hoped the pot didn't land flower-side down.

A hand pulled his head up and back, and he couldn’t help but wince at the feeling of claws digging in his skin.

"I can see it now--" the wolf snarled, now wielding a hammer with his free hand. "The suzerain will declare me as a national hero!"

Oogway managed to whip his head forward with a yell, pulling the weight off his back with it. He barely had time to assess his neck scrape, let alone settle in a starting stance before the wolf jumped up.

He ducked down, sending an upward jab to his neck in kind. The wolf let out a choke as he reeled back. Despite the fact that they haven’t been fighting for very long, he already looked ragged.

“After we take this land, we can drive out whoever is in our way!” The voice was slowly becoming more worn.

The wolf closed his half of the gap, his head lunging a little past the other’s hands with snapping jaws with a shaky stance. Oogway flinched, his grip faltering as the wolf snapped even further. The wolf tripped over and slammed his snout on the rock with a _thud_.

The wolf turned around, now hunched down on all fours and dark fur all mussed up from the skirmish. He staggered for a moment with wide, unblinking eyes.

“St… starting with you,” he huffed. “Then we’ll deal wi’h the… _fugitives_ you live with. I have unfinished business with the traitors’ kid anyway.”

Now it was Oogway’s turn to gawk. He opened his mouth, only for nothing to come out. Closed. Opened again. “You... hurt them?” His words were strained.

“Just one.” _Step_. “Don’t know what happened to the other one, but she deserved it.”

_...Mei?_

Everything was getting jumbled. His words were getting jumbled. They were all getting caught in his throat. _What had she done? What had happened while he was gone? Why wasn’t Shen there to help her? He was usually there to do that, wasn’t he--_

The wolf stepped closer with shaky steps, picking up the warhammer that was lost among the scuffle. “Oh, what’s wrong?” he cooed mockingly. “Sad that your friends haven’t told the truth about what they’ve done? How they’ve cursed Gongmen City _twofold_?...”

His next words were barely a breath, still in disbelief: “You _hurt_ them.”

Before the wolf had time to finish his monologue the tortoise ran up, arm outstretched and now gripping the warhammer handle for dear life. With a quick tug he knocked the wolf out of his word filled stupor, leaving him caught between keeping it in his grasp and struggling against the uncomfortable twisting of his arm, and wide open.

He pulled back, but Oogway retaliated with forcing the handle to press against his neck uncomfortably-- _see how he likes it._

Perhaps it was a cheap shot, but this wasn't a fair fight to begin with.

The wolf let out a choked whine before shifting his weight towards the direction of the hammerhead and throwing the both of them to the side. Now off-balanced, the both of them landed on the rock nearby, sliding on impact.

Oogway couldn’t help but wince at the feeling of rock scraping carapace, but discomfort was quickly being blown back by panic setting in. The wolf wriggled out of his clutches and rolled out of the way, causing him to shift to be overturned.

Before he could do anything about it he fell down on his back, the wind knocked out of him. Everything was hurting, even the sunlight that fell upon him was painful, but he couldn’t just-- he needed to _get up_ \-- _he needed to_ focus--

Oogway clapped his hands on both sides of his face. What he needed was to _calm down_. He looked around, bracing himself for anything. Twisting his neck in a position it really wasn’t made to take, he brought himself to look behind him.

The wolf was on the other side of the rock, limping on all fours towards the warhammer that was once again lost in the scuffle.

He began to rock quietly to right himself, belly flopping behind the rock for cover. He couldn’t help but tense up at the sound of the footsteps stopping. _No, get back to being distracted_.

Oogway peered around the corner, watching how the wolf was swaying. It looked like a stiff breeze could topple him. While the wolf did stop, he was still preoccupied with taking back the warhammer.

The tortoise stood up with a start and ran. The wolf’s head whipped around, snarling, but that was all it could do before he did a quick jab to the shoulder. The wolf fell with a keening whine, not helped by a foot applying pressure on the inside of his knee.

Oogway pulled the jabbed arm behind the wolf’s back with one hand in an attempt to pin him down. The wolf let out a snarl in response. The still-free arm was thrashing wildly-- a last ditch effort to get out of his bonds.

The tortoise snapped his own free arm forward, only to miss by a hair’s breadth. Claws hooked into his skin and dragged it down forward to the point where holding onto him would become cumbersome. Oogway let out a hiss, pained and furious.

It felt like the world had stopped. Both of them were worse for wear, too tired to continue but too persistent to let the other win.

The wolf was the first to break the silence. “F-- for Gongmen-- need to--”

Oogway glanced down at his manic expression with furrowed brows “You need to stop, otherwise you’re going to knock yourself out.”

He pinned his ears back, inconsolable. “Gongmen needs to-- will be prosperous--”

The wolf let out a keening whine as he dipped his head down, taking in laborious breaths. While he continued to struggle, his strength was waning. Before long, his entire body went limp.

As the dust began to settle and clear, so did his mind. _What did they do to deserve to be hurt in your eyes?_

Oogway could still feel the rise and fall that came with breathing, but the fact that he could see it on a faint outline of ribs that was completely unprotected didn’t assuade his fears. Perhaps it was ridiculous, but he felt that if he were to let up, the wolf would stand up again. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for another fight! He--

He snapped in attention at the sound of something wading through the grass. If he wasn’t on high alert before, he was now. Whipping his neck around with a speed he never knew he had, he stood-- or at least _knelt_ awkwardly in front of Tigress. In one hand was a narcissus inside a cracked flowerpot. The other was a satchel.

He looked at her at her with wide eyes, then darted back to the wolf. “...So. _Training’s_ been going well.” A pause. “Sorry ‘bout letting go of the flower, but… trying not to die was a very big distraction. Um. How-- how much of that did you see?”

" _Enough_ of it." Her eyes were sharp, but then again, they had always been like that. She placed the narcissus on the flat rock before taking out one of the satchel’s contents-- rope. “I came as soon as I heard the commotion. Now get out of the way-- I’ll tie him up and deal with your injuries after.”

Oogway was more than willing to comply, rolling out of position to make way for the master. As she busied herself with apprehending and searching the wolf, he busied himself with nursing his arm. His hand was still twitching from nerves.

The tortoise thought back to the wolf’s words as he glanced back for a moment; if he were in better condition, he would ask for answers, but that would probably get him hammered in the face. As much as he didn’t want to fall under such an obvious ploy to sow doubt, this was _still_ going to irk him--

“Are you able to stand?”

Oogway’s eyes snapped up to Tigress, who was done with tying up the wolf’s hands and feet. Rope was replaced with gauze as she knelt down to his level and assessed him. He nodded.

“Good-- now granted, my knowledge on healing is limited,” she began as she tied the bandages around his arm. “But Mantis will be able to make a better analysis on whether you need extra treatment when we get back.”

“We’re going back?!” he shot back, voice cracking as she moved onto patching up his neck. “What about-- what about _training_? What now?”

“If they’re sending spies, we need to go back to everyone else to figure out what to do next.”

“No, I mean--” he gestured to the now-unconscious wolf. “What about _him?”_

Tigress considered him as if he had said something ridiculous. He couldn't help but purse his beak in frustration.

Oogway stood up, hand moving to the bandages of his arm reflexively. “You said that enemies will take advantage of weakness, and--”

“I know.”

“--  And I know he’s the enemy, but… I dunno, look at him!” He gestured to the wolf’s exposed torso, twig-thin and just as fragile. “His ribs-- his breathing--”

_The answers he could have!_

Instead of doing every thing Oogway imagined, she handed the flowerpot over. Looking back up, he couldn’t help but freeze up once more as she approached the wolf. She tilted his head over, exposing a bruise for all to see; even with his dark fur, the lump was clearly not something that was supposed to be there.

“I-- I did _not_ do that,” he interjected.

Tigress eyed the ribs in question, expression grave. “He’s clearly not fit for combat, and yet he pressed himself to the point of exhaustion.”

Oogway nodded quickly.

“You could have _killed_ him with that suffocation move.” Her words were authoritative, as if this were any other training session. “If your intent was to non-lethally subdue him, going for his limbs like you did after would have been more effective.”

His fingers entwined with itself, gaze flitting between the both of them with furrowed brows.  “Of course.”

The next moment was nerve wracking silence, save for wheezy, quiet breaths. The wolf didn’t look like he was going to wake up any time soon.

“So, what now?” He couldn’t help but hold the flowerpot closer to him.

Tigress’ ears flattened against her skull. “What do you think, Dragon Warrior?”

He bristled. "You're asking _me_?"

"Knowing what to do at the wake of a battle is important as well," she reasoned as she begun to wrap what little the wolf had in his pockets-- a dull knife and a yuan or two-- in gauze and pocketed it into the satchel. "Besides, you've been silent for so long, and so often-- there's got to be _something_ in your head."

Oogway stared at her blankly. "What to do, huh," he echoed before placing a hand to the wolf's wrist to check for vitals. It pulsed weakly in his hand, the arm attached to the heartbeat sallow and bony. "He's been like this for a while," he added, an afterthought.

The master looked back at the tortoise, a silent question, before he replied hastily, “Mei taught me some stuff about this kinda stuff.”

He took the bowl of food, long gone cold after the skirmish, and put it near the wolf’s face. His nose twitched at the faint scent before his entire body tensed up to rise, only to fall once more.

"...Master?"

Her brow raised in silent acknowledgement.

"Can you hand me the bandages?” He paused for a moment before his words began to pick up speed. “And also a branch? Also, do we have enough rope? And--”

“Slow down, Dragon Warrior." Tigress couldn't help but squint. "Why would we even need a branch?"

Oogway tapped the tip of his beak thoughtfully. “You know-- to tie him up and carry him back with us."

Tigress crossed her arms, ready to retort his words but he stopped her.

"I mean, we can’t-- we can’t just _leave_ him here,” he countered. “He could break the rope an' run away to the lord and lady! Or, you know, die.”

Her face contorted sourly at the idea. “I refuse to compromise the security of the Palace.”

“I-- I’m not telling you to do that,” Oogway made a face in kind, this one out of frustration at her. “That’s why we’re tying him up-- so he doesn’t run around and do--  _stuff!_ ”

Tigress’ ears pinned back.

The tortoise dragged a hand down the side of his face. He needed to switch tactics. “He could have answers-- a-- a look inside, like, a weakness or at least what the army is like.”

Another pause.

“You _did_ say to take advantage of opponent’s weakness-- here is a good way how,” Oogway added. "I-- I know it's a risk, but isn't it worth it?"

Her brows raised for a moment, only to furrow once again. “Hm.” Her jaw sets in a grimace, almost as if she’d eaten a bowlful of _gai lan._

"P-- _please_ , Master Tigress--" he was getting despondent. "I-- I've made a decision now. I'm here now, and I'm going to stay here and get answers-- and-- and if it helps in the end, then that's good enough for me. Please just-- just _trust_ me."

As Tigress approached him, he couldn’t help but reflexively bring a fist to his palm and bow lowly-- what was he trying to  _accomplish_  here? Everything out of his mouth so far was just a babbling brook of words-- constant and with no particular meaning. Not even the distant hum of the Windy Rocks could have alleviated the heavy atmosphere.

A moment passed before she let out an exasperated sigh. “A branch isn't going to cut it," she said, finally cutting the silence. "Hanging him off that would just cause further injury, however..."

" _However_..." he echoed back, unsure. "What?"

"A stretcher wouldn't have such complications."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate summary: In which Oogway says more words in this chapter than any other chapters before this combined. ~~True character development at its finest~~.
> 
> Alright, the reason why this chapter took so long was because this chapter was essentially frankenstein'ed together from two other iterations of this chapter-- one had the wolf go free. The other had Oogway and Tigress... kind of just leaving the wolf stranded in the mountains so he doesn't get in the way. Both options, I realize wouldn't make sense for the characters to be alright with.
> 
> Granted, Tigress isn't alright with what's happening now, but at least the situation has deescalated and under control.
> 
> Next chapter we're getting out of the Valley and checking in on the Musician's Village. And Shifu and Shen, I guess. Who even remembers those guys?
> 
> On another note did you guys know I made an archival blog for this AU? Because I did. [Here it is](https://bukesiyicrew.tumblr.com/).


End file.
